Sunday, May 4, 2008
Chapter 13: Cultural Regions of the United States
Los Angeles is part of the Coast, and is perhaps most associated with Hollywood. Known as the "movie capital of the world," Hollywood attracts all sorts of people from around the country, and world who are looking to break into the the entertainment industry. Musicians, actors, and writers all move to Los Angeles hoping that they will have their big break. Los Angeles is also closely associated with skate, and surf cultures as both of their roots can be traced back to Southern California, and remain a popular past time today.
Chapter 12: Human Impact on the Environment
Air Pollution
Los Angeles' gravest environmental problem is the smog that looms over some of its cities. The smog is due to Angelenos' reliance on the automobile as well as the geography of the area. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley are susceptible to atmospheric inversion, which holds in the exhausts from road vehicles, airplanes, locomotives, shipping, manufacturing, and other sources. Other cities can rely on rain to clear the smog but Los Angeles only averages 15 inches a year. To combat this problem the state of California has been working to limit pollution by mandating low emissions vehicles. Levels of pollution have begun to decline as the number of The number of Stage 1 smog alerts has declined from over 100 per year in the 1970s to almost zero in the new millennium. Despite the improvements, the 2006 annual report of the American Lung Association ranks L.A. as the most polluted in the country with short-term particle pollution and year-round particle pollution.
Los Angeles' gravest environmental problem is the smog that looms over some of its cities. The smog is due to Angelenos' reliance on the automobile as well as the geography of the area. The Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley are susceptible to atmospheric inversion, which holds in the exhausts from road vehicles, airplanes, locomotives, shipping, manufacturing, and other sources. Other cities can rely on rain to clear the smog but Los Angeles only averages 15 inches a year. To combat this problem the state of California has been working to limit pollution by mandating low emissions vehicles. Levels of pollution have begun to decline as the number of The number of Stage 1 smog alerts has declined from over 100 per year in the 1970s to almost zero in the new millennium. Despite the improvements, the 2006 annual report of the American Lung Association ranks L.A. as the most polluted in the country with short-term particle pollution and year-round particle pollution.
Chapter 11: Recreational Resources
Parks
City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks operates 180 recreation centers, 59 swimming pools, 9 lakes, 7 camps, as well as more than a dozen museums and historical sites. Overall they administer over 15,600 acres of parkland, with the largest park being Griffith park with its 4,217 acres. Griffith Park povides visitors with the Griffith Observatory with its Planetarium, the Los Angeles Zoo, Greek Theater, hiking and bridle trails, youth camps, tennis courts and a nearby swimming pool.
Museums
There are many museums in Los Angeles ranging from art, science and nature, and history and culture. One of the most popular places being the J. Paul Getty Museum which houses approximately 44,000 works of art from Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities, of which over 1,200 are on view.
Theme Parks
Six Flags Magic Mountain is a theme park located in Valencia. It first opened its doors on Memorial Day weekend on May 29, 1971. It is open year round and offers 51 different rides, with 15 of those being rollercoasters, which are the main attraction.
City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks operates 180 recreation centers, 59 swimming pools, 9 lakes, 7 camps, as well as more than a dozen museums and historical sites. Overall they administer over 15,600 acres of parkland, with the largest park being Griffith park with its 4,217 acres. Griffith Park povides visitors with the Griffith Observatory with its Planetarium, the Los Angeles Zoo, Greek Theater, hiking and bridle trails, youth camps, tennis courts and a nearby swimming pool.
Museums
There are many museums in Los Angeles ranging from art, science and nature, and history and culture. One of the most popular places being the J. Paul Getty Museum which houses approximately 44,000 works of art from Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities, of which over 1,200 are on view.
Theme ParksSix Flags Magic Mountain is a theme park located in Valencia. It first opened its doors on Memorial Day weekend on May 29, 1971. It is open year round and offers 51 different rides, with 15 of those being rollercoasters, which are the main attraction.
Chapter 9: Cities
The Los Angeles Metropolitan area is home to 12.9 million people, who are from all over the globe and speak over 224 different languages. The economy is driven by international trade such as entertainment, aerospace, technology, petroleum, fashion, and tourism. 6 fortune 500 companies call the metropolitan area their home, as it is a place where companies can escape the taxes of the city. The county's population is made up of people with all sorts of different etnic backgrounds, but the major groups are: 29.7% of the population is White/non-Hispanic, 46.5% Hispanic, 8.24% African American, and 10% Asian. The two major languages spoken are English with 42.2% and Spanish with 41.7. The median income per household is $36,687 and approximately 22.1% of the population lives under the poverty line.
Chapter 8: Transportation
Railroads
The Southern Pacific's route to Los Angeles was completed in 1880, while the Santa Fe was finished 6 years later. The completion of these two railroads lead to a boom in citrus farming, tourism, and towns in the Los Angeles area.
Faced with severe traffic on the highways, Los Angeles officials had to create transport alternatives for the growing population. The Metrolink was created to "reduce congestion on highways and improve mobility throughout Southern California." Today it has 7 lines, 54 stations and 40,000 passengers daily. The L.A. County Metro Rail is another alternative as it provides 3 light rail lines, as well as 2 rapid transit subway lines which together total 73.1 miles of rail, with 62 stations, and approximately 250,000 daily weekday passengers.
Airports
The major airport in Los Angeles is the LAX, which is the fifth busiest airport in the world with 61,895,548 passengers in 2007. Other notable airports include the Long Beach Municipal Airport, and the Bob Hope Airport located in Burbank.
Ports
The two most important ports in Los Angeles are the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Together they handle over a 1/4 of all container traffic entering the United States, making them one of the 3 largest ports in the world by shipping volume.
The Southern Pacific's route to Los Angeles was completed in 1880, while the Santa Fe was finished 6 years later. The completion of these two railroads lead to a boom in citrus farming, tourism, and towns in the Los Angeles area.
Faced with severe traffic on the highways, Los Angeles officials had to create transport alternatives for the growing population. The Metrolink was created to "reduce congestion on highways and improve mobility throughout Southern California." Today it has 7 lines, 54 stations and 40,000 passengers daily. The L.A. County Metro Rail is another alternative as it provides 3 light rail lines, as well as 2 rapid transit subway lines which together total 73.1 miles of rail, with 62 stations, and approximately 250,000 daily weekday passengers.
Airports
The major airport in Los Angeles is the LAX, which is the fifth busiest airport in the world with 61,895,548 passengers in 2007. Other notable airports include the Long Beach Municipal Airport, and the Bob Hope Airport located in Burbank.
Ports
The two most important ports in Los Angeles are the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Together they handle over a 1/4 of all container traffic entering the United States, making them one of the 3 largest ports in the world by shipping volume.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Chapter 7: Industrial and Commercial Organization
Los Angeles holds the claim of being the largest manufacturing center in the United States with 500,ooo workers in manufacturing activities in 2003. The largest components are:
Apparel: 63,800 jobs
Computer and electronic products: 60,000 jobs
Transportation products: 54,600 jobs
Fabricated metal products: 49,900
Food products: 44,800
Furniture: 27,400
Only Detroit produces more automobiles than Los Angeles. Banking and financing also are important industries as more than 100 foreign and countless domestic banks operate branches in Los Angeles. The best known industry in Los Angeles is the entertainment, with the production of film, television, and music.
Apparel: 63,800 jobs
Computer and electronic products: 60,000 jobs
Transportation products: 54,600 jobs
Fabricated metal products: 49,900
Food products: 44,800
Furniture: 27,400
Only Detroit produces more automobiles than Los Angeles. Banking and financing also are important industries as more than 100 foreign and countless domestic banks operate branches in Los Angeles. The best known industry in Los Angeles is the entertainment, with the production of film, television, and music.
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