Los Angeles' Freeways

This image depicts what Michael Dear and Steven Flusty refer to as the one of the only ‘common narrative(s)’ of Los Angeles; the freeways. Rayner Banham also commented on the freeways of Los Angeles, stating that ‘the freeway system in its totality is now a single comprehensible place, a coherent state of mind, a complete way of life’. The freeways of the city act as connectors, linking one side of the endless city to the other.

These freeways indicate the postmodern qualities that Los Angeles possesses. Firstly they aid the fragmentation of the community, creating segmentation and isolation. This isolation of postmodern communities is shown by a city such as Los Angeles; affluence and poverty are able to exist almost side by side, the only barrier being the freeways. The decentralisation of Los Angeles is exacerbated by the existence of the freeways; the dominance of cars and mobility is aided by the freeways, helping to create a culture of technology where intimacy is unnecessary. ‘Community’ is a notion that is scarce within postmodern cities; the street is now insignificant in light of the rise of the freeways and the automobile, personal communication is now almost obsolete due to the telephone and the modem.

The landscape of Los Angeles is a complete overhaul of the modernity of cities such as New York and Philadelphia with their city centres, their shops, and their sense of community. The sprawl of Los Angeles, intersected by freeways and boulevards, is a perfect example of a postmodern city; decentralised, fragmented, a simulacrum.