Review of “Building Downtown Los Angeles: The Politics of Race and Place in Urban America”

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Los Angeles is perhaps one of the most studied cities in the United States. Compared to older industrial cities, like Chicago and Detroit, or to Northeastern cities with high residential segregation rates, like Boston and New York, Los Angeles still represents a more recently established metropolis, with twelve-lane freeways, eternal glamour, and sunshine. An unmistakable feeling of freedom overtakes the visitor, who gets off the airplane and starts driving on West Century Boulevard, lined up with toll, beautiful palm trees. The sense of freedom and glamour, however, quickly wears off if the visitor continuous to drive into South Central Los Angeles or down memory lane to the beating of Rodney King and the riots following the police officers’ acquittal. The contradictions of Los Angeles as a modern metropolis are captured with detailed precision and historical insight by Leland Saito in his book “Building Downtown Los Angeles: The Politics of Race and Place in Urban America.” The focus of the book is a juxtaposition of a well-known process of urban real estate development with the far less known building of a diverse coalition for social justice.