(thread under construction)

Most people probably think that L.A.'s a suburban city with little to offer in terms of urbanism / density. Many people on this forum may think that L.A.'s dense only because it has suburban houses on smaller lots throughout much of the metropolitan area. Most people may think that L.A. can't even compare with urban cities in terms of urban density.

However, upon investigation, I find otherwise. L.A. has lots of places that are as dense as urban cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, yet the only real difference is that L.A. has them all scattered around L.A. and the metro area. Case in point:

First, for Reference, aerials of different urban cities (and these are in areas either close to or in the downtown areas of each city respectably)

Boston
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/boston2.jpg

Philadelphia
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/philadelphia1.jpg

Washington DC
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/washingtondc1.jpg


Compare these pics with these around L.A.:

Koreatown
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/koreatown.jpg

Hollywood
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/hollywood1.jpg

Westlake
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/westlake1.jpg

Brentwood
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/brentwood1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/brentwood2.jpg

Westwood
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/westwood1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/westwood2.jpg

Santa Monica
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/santamonica1.jpg

Marina Del Rey
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/marinadelrey1.jpg

Playa Del Rey
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/playadelrey.jpg

Venice Beach
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/venicebeach1.jpg

Beverly Hills
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/beverlyhills1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/beverlyhills2.jpg

Los Feliz
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/losfeliz1.jpg

Glendale City
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/glendale1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/glendale2.jpg

Sherman Oaks (yes, even in the sprawling San Fernando Valley)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/shermanoaks1.jpg

It is BS that people try to deny giving merits to L.A. for its urban traits. L.A. may not have its density and urbanism within one large area of the city, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't have it, and much of L.A.'s density and urbanism can be found within a 15 mile area. Unlike other urban metro areas, urbanism and density can be found all over the metro area, from the dense houses of Malibu to the large resort areas of Newport Beach in Orange County with rowhouse level residential densities.

In fact, after doing my own aerial surveillance of urban cities via Windows Live Local's Birds Eye View feature, L.A.'s high density areas are even more dense than many areas of Boston and Washington DC, and even San Francisco (given that these cities have many neighborhoods with rowhouses, but each rowhouse has a long backyard, whereas L.A.'s dense areas generally have multifamily buildings that have no backyard and each building takes up much more of the entire parcel, thus much denser.

I'm talking the difference between this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/sanfrancisco2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/washingtondc2.jpg

And this, from L.A.:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/brentwood2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v669/DaveofCali/LA%20density%20comparison/marinadelrey1.jpg