Postmodern Urbanism

Author(s): Michael Dear and Steven Flusty

Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Mar., 1998), pp.
50-72
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 Urbanism
Postmodern
MichaelDear and StevenFlusty

SouthernCalifornia
StudiesCenter, ofSouthernCalifornia
University

Theories area scarcecommodity.

ofurbanstructure Mosttwentieth-century
analyseshavebeen
predicated on theChicagoSchoolmodelofconcentric zones,despitetheobviousclaimsof
competing models.ThispaperexaminesthecontemporaryformsofSouthernCaliforniaurbanism
as an initial
steptoward a concept
deriving of"postmodernurbanism."The LosAngeles model
consistsofseveralfundamental
characteristics,
including
a global-local
connection,a ubiquitous
anda reterritorialization
socialpolarization, oftheurban inwhich
process organizes
hinterland the
center (indirect
contradiction
totheChicago model).Theresultant
urbanism isdistinguished
by
a centerlessurbanformtermed whichweadvanceas thebasisfora research
"kenocapitalism,"
agendaincomparative urbananalysis.
KeyWords: postmodem,
urbanism,urban Chicago,
structure,
LosAngeles.

Sometimes, fallingasleepinSantaMonica,he won- ModernAgeis beingsucceded

bya post-modern
deredvaguelyif theremighthave been a larger period
(1959:165-66).
system, a fieldof greaterperspective.
Perhapsthe
whole of DatAmericapossessedits own nodal Millsbelievedthatit was vitalto conceptualize
points,infofaultsthatmightbe followeddownto the categoriesof changein orderto "graspthe
someotherkindoftruth, anothermodeofknowing, outlineofthenewepochwesupposeourselves to
deepwithinthegrayshoalsofinformation. Butonly be entering" (1959:166).
ifthereweresomeonethereto posetherightques- Have we arrivedat a radicalbreakin theway

O
tion(WilliamGibson,1996:39).
ne ofthemostenervating
aspectsof
recentdebateson thepostmodern con-
ditionis thenotionthattherehasbeen
a radical break frompast trendsin political,
economic,and socioculturallife.There is no
clearconsensusaboutthenatureofthisosten-
sible break.Some analystshave declaredthe
currentconditionto be nothingmore than
businessas usual, onlyfaster a "hypermod-
ern"or"supermodern" phaseofadvancedcapi-
talism.1Othershave noted that the pace of
change in all aspectsof our global societyis
sufficientforus to beginto speak of "revolu-
tion." In this essay,we are cognizantof an
invocationof Jacques Derrida,who invited
those interestedin assessingthe extentand
volumeof contemporary change to "rehearse
thebreak,"intimating thatonlybyassuminga
radicalbreakhad occurredwouldourcapacity
to recognizeit be released.Similaradvicewas
offeredby C. WrightMills in The Sociological
Imagination(1959):
We areat theendingofwhatis calledThe Modern
Age.Justas Antiquitywasfollowedbyseveralcen-
turiesof Orientalascendancy,whichWesterners
called The Dark Ages, so now The
provincially
AnnalsoftheAssociation
ofAmericanGeographers,
88(1), 1998,pp.50-72
(? 1998byAssociation
ofAmericanGeographers
Published 350 MainStreet,Maiden,MA 02148,and 108CowleyRoad,Oxford,
byBlackwellPublishers,
citiesaredeveloping? Is theresomething called
a postmodern urbanism,whichpresumesthatwe
can identify someformoftemplatethatdefines
itscriticaldimensions?2 Thisinquiry isbasedon
a simplepremise:thatjustas thecentraltenets
of modernistthoughthave been undermined,
its core evacuated and replacedby a rushof
competingepistemologies, so too have thetra-
ditionallogicsofearlierurbanisms evaporated,
and in the absenceofa singlenewimperative,
multipleurban (ir)rationalities are competing
to fillthe void. It is the concretizationand
localizationoftheseeffects, globalin scopebut
generatedand manifested locally,thatare cre-
atingthegeographies ofpostmodern society a
newtime-spacefabric.3 Webeginthissearchby
outliningthefundamental preceptsoftheChi-
cago School,a classicalmodernist visionofthe
industrialmetropolis,and contrastingthese
with evidence of a nascent postmodernLos
Angeles School.4 Next we examine a broad
rangeofcontemporary SouthernCaliforniaur-
banisms,beforegoingon to suggesta critical
reinterpretation of thisevidencethatencom-
passes and definesthe problematicof a post-
modern urbanism.In conclusion, we offer
commentsintendedto assistin formulating an
agendaforcomparative urbanresearch.
OX4 1JF,
UK.
 Postmodern
Urbanism
FromChicagotoLos Angeles
It has been a traditional
axiomofclassicalwriting
aboutthecitythaturbanstructuresarethedomain
ofreasonJonathan Raban 1974:157).
The ChicagoSchool
ofurbanstructure
Generaltheories area scarce
commodity.One ofthe mostpersistentmodelsof
urban structureis associated with a group of
sociologists who flourishedin Chicago in the
1920s and 1930s. Accordingto MorrisJanowitz,
the "Chicago School" was motivated to regard
the city "as an object of detached sociological
analysis,"worthyof distinctivescientificatten-
tion:
The cityisnotan artifact
ora residualarrangement.
On thecontrary, thecityembodiestherealnature
ofhumannature.It is an expressionofmankindin
generaland specifically
ofthesocialrelationsgen-
eratedbyterritoriality
(Janowitz 1967:viii-ix).
The mostenduringoftheChicago School models
was the zonal or concentric
ringtheory,
an account
of the evolution of differentiated urban social
areas by E.W Burgess(1925). Based on assump-
tions that included a uniformland surface,uni-
versal access to a single-centered city, free
competitionforspace, and the notionthatdevel-
opmentwould take place outwardfroma central
core, Burgessconcluded thatthe citywould tend
to forma seriesof concentriczones. (These are
the same assumptionsthatwerelaterto formthe
basis ofthe land-rentmodelsofAlonso, Muth,et
al.) The main ecological metaphorsinvoked to
describe this dynamicwere invasion,succession,
and segregation, by which populations gradually
filteredoutwardsfromthe center as theirstatus
and level of assimilationprogressed.The model
was predicatedon continuinghighlevelsofinmi-
grationto the city.
At the core of Burgess'sschema was the Cen-
tral Business District (CBD), which was sur-
rounded by a transitional zone, where older
private houses were being converted to offices
and lightindustryor subdividedto formsmaller
dwelling units. This was the principal area to
which new immigrantswere attracted,and it
included areas of vice and generallyunstable or
mobile social groups.The transitionalzone was
succeeded by a zone of working-men'shomes,
which included some of the oldest residential
51
buildingsin the cityand stablesocial groups.
Beyondthis,newerand largerdwellings wereto
be found, occupiedbythemiddleclasses.Finally,
thecommuters' zoneextendedbeyondthecon-
tinuousbuilt-up areaofthecitywherea consid-
erable portionof the zone's populationwas
employed. Burgess's modelwasa broadgenerali-
zation,notintendedto be takentooliterally. He
expected,forinstance,thathis schemawould
applyonlyin theabsenceofcomplicating factors
such as local topography. He also anticipated
considerable variation withinthedifferent zones.
Otherurbanists notedthetendency forcities
to growin star-shaped ratherthan concentric
form, alonghighways thatradiatefroma center
withcontrasting landusesintheinterstices. This
observation gave riseto a sectortheory ofurban
structure,advancedin thelate 1930sbyHomer
Hoyt(1933,1939),whoobservedthatoncevari-
ationsaroseinlandusesnearthecitycenter, they
tendedto persistas the citygrew.Distinctive
sectorsthusexpandedout fromtheCBD, often
organizedalongmajorhighways. Hoytempha-
sizedthatnonrational factorscouldalterurban
form, as whenskillful promotion influenced the
directionof speculativedevelopment. He also
understood thatthe age ofbuildings could still
reflecta concentric ringstructure, and thatsec-
torsmaynotbe internally homogeneous at one
specifictime.
The complexities ofreal-world urbanism were
further takenup in themultiple nucleitheory of
C.D. Harrisand E. Ullman(1945). They pro-
posedthatcitieshavea cellularstructure inwhich
landusesdeveloparoundmultiple growth-nuclei
withinthemetropolis-aconsequenceofacces-
sibility-inducedvariationsin the land-rent sur-
face and agglomeration (dis)economies.Harris
and Ullman (1945) also allow thatreal-world
urbanstructure is determined bybroadersocial
andeconomicforces, theinfluence ofhistory,and
international influences. But whateverthepre-
cise reasonsfortheirorigin,once nucleihave
beenestablished, generalgrowth forcesreinforce
theirpreexistingpatterns.
Much of the urbanresearchagenda of the
twentieth centuryhas been predicatedon the
precepts oftheconcentric zone,sector, and mul-
tiplenuclei theoriesof urbanstructure. Their
influences can be seendirectly infactorialecolo-
gies of intraurban structure, land-rentmodels,
studiesofurbaneconomiesand diseconomies of
scale,and designsforideal citiesand neighbor-
hoods.The specificand persistent popularity of
52 Dear and Flusty

theChicagoconcentric ringmodelis harderto was reaching newnationalprominence, Los An-

explain,however, giventheproliferationofevi- geleshas begunto makeits impression on the
denceinsupport ofalternative The most
theories. mindsof urbanists. Their theoretical inquiries
likelyreasonsforitsenduranceare probably re- focusnot onlyon the specificcity,but also on
latedto a beguiling and theenormous
simplicity moregeneralquestionsconcerning urbanproc-
volumeofpublications producedbyadherents of esses.Cenzatticlaimsthatone concerncommon
theChicagoSchool.Evenas late as 1992,Mike to all adherents oftheL.A. Schoolis a focuson
Davis'svisionofan ecologyoffearinLosAngeles whichincludes
restructuring, deindustrialization
and
managedto producea sketchbasedon thenow- reindustrialization, the birthof the information
familiarconcentricrings(Davis 1992c). economy, thedeclineofnation-states, theemer-
genceofnewnationalisms, andtheriseofthePacific
Rim.Suchproliferating logicsofteninvolvemultiple
A "Los AngelesSchool"? theoretical frameworks thatoverlapandcoexistin
theirexplanations of theburgeoning global/local
Duringthe1980s,a groupofloosely-associated order a heterodoxy consistent withtheproject of
scholars,professionals, and advocatesbased in postmodernism.
Southern California
beganto examinethenotion Los Angelesis undoubtedly a specialplace.6
thatwhatwashappening intheLosAngelesregion But adherents oftheLos AngelesSchoolrarely
wassomehow symptomatic ofa broader socio-geo- assertthatthe cityis unique,nornecessarily a
graphic transformationtaking placewithin theU.S. harbinger ofthefuture, eventhoughbothview-
as a whole.Theircommonbutthenunarticulated pointsare at someleveldemonstrably true.7In-
projectwas based on certainsharedtheoretical stead,at a minimum theyassertthatSouthern
assumptions, and on theviewthatL.A. was em- California is a suggestive prototypea polyglot,
blematic ofsomemoregeneral urbandynamic. One polycentric, polycultural pastichethatis some-
of the earliestexpressions of an emergent "L.A. how engagedin the rewriting of the American
School"was theappearancein 1986ofa special socialcontract(Dear et al. 1996;Scottand Soja
issueofthejournalSociety and Space,whichwas 1996;Steinberg et al. 1992).The peculiarcondi-
entirelydevotedtounderstanding LosAngeles.5 In tionsthathave led now to the emergence of a
theirprefatory remarks to thatissue,AllenScott networkof Los Angeles-based scholarsmaybe
and EdwardSoja referred to Los Angelesas the coincidental:(a) thatan especiallypowerful in-
"capitalofthetwentieth century," deliberatelyin- tersection of empirical and theoretical research
voking WalterBenjamin's reference to Parisas the projectshave come togetherin thisparticular
capitalofthenineteenth. Theypredicted thatthe placeat thisparticular time;(b) thatthesetrends
volumeof scholarly workon Los Angeleswould are occurring in whathas historically been the
quicklyovertake thaton Chicago. mostunderstudied majorcityintheU.S.; (c) that
Theburgeoning outlinesofan L.A. Schoolwere theseprojectshaveattracted theattention ofan
givencrudeform bya seriesofmeetings andpubli- assemblage ofincreasingly self-consciousscholars
cationsthatoccurred during thelate1980s,andby andpractitioners; and (d) thattheworldisfacing
1990,inhispenetrating critique ofSouthern Cali- theprospect ofa Pacificcentury, inwhichSouth-
forniaurbanism (CityofQuartz),MikeDaviswas ern California is likely to become a globalcapital.
able to makespecificreference to the School's The vitality of the Los AngelesSchool derives
expanding consciousness.He commented thatits principally fromtheintersection oftheseevents,
practitionerswereundecidedwhetherto model and the promisetheyhold fora re-creation of
themselves aftertheChicagoSchool(namedprin- urban theory. The validity and potential of the
forthecitythatwasitsobjectofinquiry),
cipally or schoolwillonlybe decidedafterextensivecom-
the Frankfurt School (a philosophical alliance parativeanalysis basedin othermetropolitan ar-
namedonlycoincidentally after itsplaceofopera- eas oftheworld.
tions).Then,in 1993,MarcoCenzatti published a
shortpamphletthatwas the firstpublication to
examine
explicitly thefocusandpotential ofanL.A. WaysofSeeing:Southern
School.Responding toDavis,he underscored that Californian Urbanisms
theSchool'spractitioners combine precepts ofboth
the Chicagoand Frankfurt Schools.Justas the Thislatestmutation inspace-postmodern hyper-
ChicagoSchoolemerged at a timewhenthatcity space-hasfinally succeeded in transcendingthe
 Urbanism
Postmodern 53

capacitiesof the humanbodyto locate itself,to capitalistaccumulation. Accompanying thisshift

organizeits immediatesurroundings perceptually, is a postmodern consciousness, a culturaland
and cognitivelyto map itspositionin a mappable ideologicalreconfiguration altering howweexpe-
external Jameson1991:44).
world(Fredric
riencesocialbeing.The centerholds,however,
becauseitfunctions as theurbanpanopticon, the
TakingLos AngelesSeriously strategicsurveillancepointforthestate'sexercise
ofsocialcontrol.Out fromthecenterextendsa
Mostworldcitieshavean instantly identifiable melangeof"wedges"and "citadels," interspersed
signature: thinkof the boulevardsof Paris,the betweencorridors formed bytheboulevards. The
skyscrapers of New York,or the churchesof consequenturban structureis a complicated
Rome. But Los Angelesappearsto be a city quilt,fragmented, yetbound to an underlying
without a commonnarrative, exceptperhapsthe economicrationality: "Withexquisite irony,con-
freeways or a moregenericiconography of the temporary Los Angeleshas come to resemble
bizarre.Twenty-five yearsago, RaynerBanham morethaneverbeforea giganticagglomeration
(1973) providedan enduringmap of the Los ofthemeparks,a lifespacecomposedofDisney-
Angeleslandscape.To thisday,itremains power- worlds"(Soja 1989:246).
ful,evocative,and instantly recognizable. He Thesethreesketches providediffering insights
identifiedfourbasic ecologies:surfurbia (the into L.A.'s landscapes.Banhamconsidersthe
beach cities:"The beachesare whatotherme- city'soveralltorsoandidentifies threebasiccom-
tropolisesshouldenvyin Los Angeles.... Los ponents(surfurbia, plains,and foothills), as well
in the
Angeles is the greatestCity-on-the-shore as connecting arteries(freeways). Suismanshifts
world,"p.37); thefoothills
(theprivileged enclaves ourgazeawayfrom principal arteries to theveins
ofBeverly Hills,BelAir,etc.,wherethefinancial thatchanneleveryday life(theboulevards). Soja
and topographical contourscorrespondalmost considersthe body-in-context, articulating the
exactly);theplainsofId (thecentralflatlands:"An linksbetweenpoliticaleconomy andpostmodern
endless plain endlesslygriddedwith endless cultureto explainfragmentation and socialdif-
streets,peppered endlesslywith ticky-tacky ferentiation in Los Angeles.All threewriters
housesclusteredin indistinguishable neighbor- maintaina studieddetachment fromthecity,as
hoods,slashedacrossby endlessfreeways that thougha voyeuristic, top-downperspective is
have destroyed anycommunity spiritthatmay neededtodiscovertherationality inherent inthe
haveonceexisted, andsoon ... endlessly,"p. 161); cityscape. Yeta postmodern sensibility wouldre-
andautopia("[The]freeway system is
initstotality linquishthe modernism inherentin such de-
nowa single comprehensible place,a coherentstate tachedrepresentations oftheurbantext.What
ofmind,a complete wayoflife," p. 213). woulda postmodernism from belowreveal?
For Douglas Suisman (1989), it is not the One ofthemostprescient visionsanticipating
freeways buttheboulevardsthatdetermine the mappingoftheurbanis
a postmodern cognitive
city'soverallphysical structure.A boulevardis a
JonathanRaban'sSoftCity(1974), a readingof
surfacestreetthat:"(1) makesarterialconnec- Rabandividesthecityinto
London'scityscapes.
tionson a metropolitan scale; (2) providesa refers to the
hardand softelements. The former
framework forcivicand commercial destination;
materialfabricof the builtenvironment-the
and (3) acts as a filterto adjacent residential
streetsand buildings thatframethelivesofcity
neighborhoods." Suismanarguesthatboulevards
an organizational dwellers.The latter,bycontrast, is an individual-
do morethanestablish pattern;
"theirreduciblearmatureofthe izedinterpretationofthecity,a perceptual orien-
theyconstitute
city'spublicspace,"and are chargedwithsocial tationcreatedinthemindofeveryurbanite.8 The
thatcannotbe ignored.
andpoliticalsignificance relationshipbetweenthetwoiscomplexandeven
Usuallysitedalongtheedgesofformer ranchos, indeterminate. The newcomer to a cityfirst con-
thesevertebralconnectorstodayforman integral frontsthehardcity,butsoon:
link among the region'smunicipalities(Suisman thecity itawaits
goessoft; theimprint ofanidentity.
1989:6-7). orworse,
Forbetter youtoremake
itinvites it,to
For Ed Soja (1989), Los Angeles is a decen- itintoa shapeyoucanlivein.You,too.
consolidate
tered,decentralized poweredbythe
metropolis Decidewhoyouare,andthecitywillagainassume
insistent
fragmentation thatis,
ofpost-Fordism, a fixed around
form you.Decidewhatitis,andyour
flexible,
an increasingly regimeof
disorganized ownidentitywillberevealed(p. I 1).
54 Dear and Flusty

Raban makesno claimsto a postmodern con- (8) stylishness (appealingto the fashionable,
sciousness, yethisinvocation oftherelationship chic,and affluent),
betweenthecognitiveand therealleads to in- (9) reconnection withthelocal(involving delib-
sightsthatareunmistakably postmodern in their erate historical/geographical reconstruc-
sensitivities. tion),and
Ted Relph(1987) wasone ofthefirst geogra- (10) pedestrian-automobile split(to redressthe
phersto cataloguethebuiltforms thatcomprise modernist biastowardthecar).
theplacesofpostmodernity. He describespost- Raban'semphasis on thecognitive andRelph's
modernurbanism as a self-conscious and selec- on the concreteunderscore the importance of
tiverevivalofelements ofolderstyles, thoughhe both dimensionsin understanding sociospatial
cautionsthatpostmodernism is notsimply a style urbanprocess.The palletteof urbanisms that
but also a frameofmind(p. 213). He observes arisesfrommerging thetwois thickandmultidi-
howtheconfluence ofmanytrends gentrifica- mensional. We turnnowto thetaskofconstruct-
tion,heritageconservation, architectural fash- ingthatpalette(whatwe earlierdescribedas a
ion, urban design, and participatory template)by examiningempiricalevidenceof
planning causedthecollapseofthemodernist recenturbandevelopments in SouthernCalifor-
visionofa future cityfilledwithskyscrapers and nia (Table1). In thisreview,wetakeourleadfrom
otheraustereiconsofscientific rationalism.The whatexists,ratherthanwhatweconsidertobe a
newurbanism is principallydistinguishable from comprehensive urbanresearchagenda.9From
theold byitseclecticism. Relph'speriodization of this,we movequicklyto a synthesis thatis pre-
twentieth-century urbanism involvesa premod- figurativeofa protopostmodern urbanism,which
ern transitional period(up to 1940); an era of we hope willserveas an invitationto a more
modernist cityscapes (after1945);anda periodof broadly basedcomparative analysis.
postmodern townscapes(since 1970). The dis-
tinctionbetweencityscapeand townscapeis cru-
cial to his diagnosis.Modernistcityscapes, he Edge Cities
claims,arecharacterized byfiveelements(Relph
JoelGarreaunotedthecentralsignificance of
1987:242-50):
Los Angeles in understanding contemporary
(1) megastructural bigness(fewstreetentrances
metropolitangrowthin the U.S. He asserts
to buildings,littlearchitectural detailing,
(1991:3)that:"Every singleAmericancitythatis
etc.),
growing,isgrowing inthefashion ofLosAngeles,"
(2) straight-space / prairiespace (city-center
and refersto L.A. as the"great-granddaddy" of
canyons, endlesssuburban vistas),
edgecities(heclaimstherearetwenty- sixofthem
(3) rationalorderandflexibility (thelandscapes
withina five-countyareainSouthern California).
oftotalorder, verging on boredom),
ForGarreau,edgecitiesrepresent thecrucibleof
(4) hardnessand opacity(includingfreeways
America'surbanfuture. The classiclocationfor
and thedisplacement ofnature),
contemporary edgecitiesis at theintersectionof
(5) discontinuous serialvision (derivingfrom
an urbanbeltwayand a hub-and-spoke lateral
thedominanceoftheautomobile).
road.The centralconditions thathavepropelled
Conversely, postmodern townscapes aremorede-
suchdevelopment arethedominance oftheauto-
tailed,handcrafted, andintricate. Theycelebrate
mobileand theassociatedneed forparking, the
difference, polyculturalism, variety, and stylish-
communications revolution,and the entryof
ness(pp.252-58). Theirelementsare:
womenin largenumbers intothelabormarket.
(6) quaintspace(a deliberate cuteness),
AlthoughGarreauagreeswithRobertFishman
(7) textured facades(forpedestrians, richinde-
that"[a]11new cityformsappearin theirearly
tail,oftenwithan "aged"appearance),

Table 1. A Taxonomy
ofSouthernCalifornia
Urbanisms
EdgeCities InterdictorySpace
Privatopia Historical
Geographies ofRestructuring
CulturesofHeteropolis Fordist/PostFordist
RegimesofAccumulation/Regulation
Cityas ThemePark Globalization
Fortified
City PoliticsofNature
 Postmodern
Urbanism 55

stagestobe chaotic"(1991:9),he is abletoiden- (McKenzie1994:19).Ithasprovoked a cultureof

tifythreebasic typesof edge city.These are: nonparticipation.
uptowns (peripheralpre-automobile settlements McKenziewarnsthatfarfrombeinga benign
thathave subsequently been absorbedbyurban or inconsequential trend,CIDs alreadydefinea
sprawl);boomers (theclassicedgecities,located newnormforthemassproduction ofhousingin
atfreeway andgreenfields
intersections); (thecur- the U.S. Equallyimportant, theirorganizations
rentstate-of-the-art, "occurring at theintersec- are now allied throughsomethingcalled the
tionof severalthousandacresof farmland and Community AssociationsInstitute, "whosepur-
one developer's monumental ego" [p. 1161). posesincludethestandardizing andprofessional-
One essentialfeatureof theedgecityis that izingofCID governance" (1994:184).McKenzie
politicsis notyetestablished there.Intothepo- noteshowthis"secessionofthesuccessful" (the
liticalvacuummovesa "shadowgovernment"a phraseis RobertReich's)has alteredconceptsof
privatized protogovernment thatis essentially a in which"one'sdutiesconsistofsat-
citizenship,
plutocratic alternative to normal politics. isfyingone's obligationsto privateproperty"
Shadowgovernments can tax,legislatefor,and (1994:196).In herfuturistic novelofL.A. wars
policetheircommunities, buttheyarerarelyac- betweenwalled-community dwellersand those
countable,areresponsive primarily to wealth(as beyondthe walls (Parableof theSower,1993),
opposedtonumbers ofvoters),andsubjecttofew OctaviaButlerhasenvisioned a dystopian priva-
constitutional constraints (Garreau1991:187). topianfuture. It includesa balkanizednationof
Jennifer Wolch(1990) has describedtheriseof defendedneighborhoods at odds withone an-
theshadowstateas partofa society-wide trend other,whereentirecommunities arewipedoutfor
towardprivatization. In edgecities,"community" a handfuloffresh lemonsora fewcupsofpotable
is scarce,occurring notthrough propinquity but water;wheretorture andmurder ofone'senemies
via telephone, fax,and privatemailservice.The is common;and wherecompany-town slaveryis
wallsthattypically surround suchneighborhoods attractiveto thosewhoarefortunate enoughto
aresocialboundaries, buttheyact as community selltheirservicesto thehyperdefended enclaves
"recognizers," not community "organizers" (pp. oftheveryrich.
275-81). In theedge-city era,Garreaunotes,the
term"master-planned" community is littlemore
thana marketing device(p. 301). Otherstudies CulturesofHeteropolis
ofsuburbanization in L.A.,mostnotably byHise
(1997) and Waldie (1996), providea basis for One ofthemostprominent socioculturalten-
comparing pastpractices ofplannedcommunity denciesin contemporary SouthernCalifornia is
marketing in SouthernCalifornia. theriseofminority populations (Onget al. 1994;
Rosemanet al. 1996;Waldinger andBozorgmehr
1996). Provokedto comprehend thecausesand
Privatopia implicationsofthe1992civildisturbances inLos
Angeles,CharlesJencks(1993:32) zeroesin on
perhapsthe quintessential
Privatopia, edge- thecity'sdiversityas thekeyto L.A.'s emergent
cityresidential
form,is a privatehousingdevel- urbanism: "Los Angelesis a combination ofen-
opmentbasedincommon-interest developments claveswithhighidentity, andmultienclaves with
(CIDs) and administered byhomeowners' asso- mixedidentity,and,takenas a whole,itisperhaps
ciations.Therewerefewer than500suchassocia- themostheterogeneous cityin theworld."Such
tions in 1964; by 1992, therewere 150,000 ethnicpluralism has givenriseto whatJencks
associationsprivately
governing approximately calls a hetero-architecture,which has demon-
32 millionAmericans. In 1990,the 11.6 million stratedthat:"thereisa greatvirtue,andpleasure,
CID unitsconstituted morethan11 percentof to be had in mixingcategories,transgressing
thenation'shousingstock(McKenzie1994:11). boundaries,inverting customsand adoptingthe
Sustainedby an expandingcatalogueof cove- marginalusage" (1993:123). The vigor and
nants,conditions,and restrictions(or CC&Rs, imaginationunderlying theseintensecultural dy-
the proscriptiveconstitutionsformalizingCID namicsis everywhere evidentin theregion, from
behavioraland aestheticnorms),privatopia has the diversityof ethnicadaptations(Park1996)
beenfueledbya largedose ofprivatization, and through theconcentration ofculturalproducers
promotedby an ideologyof "hostileprivatism" intheregion(Molotch1996),tothehybrid com-
56 Dear and Flusty

plexities ofemerging culturalforms(Boyd1996, Thisis because"the800 telephonenumberand

1997). the piece of plastichave made timeand space
The consequentbuiltenvironment is charac- obsolete,"andtheseinstruments of"artificial
ad-
terized bytransience,energy, andunplanned vul- jacency"haveeviscerated thetraditionalpolitics
garity, in whichHollywoodis neverfaraway. ofpropinquity (Sorkin1992:xi).Sorkinobserves
Jencksviewsthisimprovisational qualityas a thatthe socialorderhas alwaysbeen legiblein
hopeful sign:"Themainpointofhetero -architec- urbanform;forexample,traditional citieshave
tureis to acceptthedifferent voicesthatcreatea adjudicatedconflicts via therelationsof public
city,suppress noneofthem,andmakefromtheir places such as the agora or piazza. In today's
interactionsome kind of greaterdialogue" "recombinant city,"however, he contendsthat
(1993:75). This is especiallyimportant in a city conventionallegibilitieshave been obscured
where minoritization, "the typicalpostmodern and/ordeliberately mutilated.The phone and
phenomenon wheremostofthepopulation forms modemhaverendered thestreetirrelevant, and
the 'other,'"is theorderoftheday,and where thenewcitythreatens an "unimagined sameness"
mostcitydwellers feeldistancedfromthepower characterized bytheloosening oftiesto anyspe-
strucure (Jencks 1993:84).DespiteJencks's opti- cificspace,risinglevelsofsurveillance, manipu-
mism, otheranalysts haveobserved thatthesame lationand segregation, and thecityas a theme
SouthernCalifornia heteropolishas to contend park. Of this last, Disneylandis the arche-
withmorethanitsshareofsocioeconomic polari- type described bySorkinas a place of"Taylor-
zation,racism,inequality, homelessness, and so- izedfun,"the"HolySee ofCreativeGeography"
cial unrest(Anderson1996; Baldassare1994; (1992:227) What is missingin thisnew cyber-
Bullard et al. 1994; Gooding-Williams 1993; neticsuburbia isnota particular buildingorplace,
Rocco 1996; Wolchand Dear 1993). Yetthese butthespacesbetween,thatis,theconnections
characteristics arepartofa sociocultural
dynamic thatmakesenseofforms(xii). Whatis missing,
thatis also provoking thesearchforinnovative then,is connectivity and community.
solutionsin labor and community organizing In extremis,Californiadreamscapesbecome
(e.g.,Pulido1996),as wellas in interethnic rela- simulacra. Ed Soja (1992:111),in a catalogueof
tions (e.g.,Abelmannand Lie 1995; Martinez SouthernCalifornia's urbaneccentricities, iden-
1992;Yoon1997). tifiedOrangeCountyas a massivesimulation of
what a cityshould be. He describesOrange
Countyas: "a structural fake,an enormous adver-
Cityas Theme Park tisement, yetfunctionally thefinestmultipurpose
facilityof its kindin the country." Callingthis
California in general,and Los Angelesin par- assemblage"exopolis,"or thecitywithout, Soja
haveoftenbeenpromoted
ticular, as placeswhere assertsthat"something newis beingbornhere"
theAmerican(suburban)Dreamis mosteasily basedon thehyperrealities ofmorecon-ventional
realized.Its oft-noted qualitiesofoptimism and themeparkssuchas Disneyland (1992:101).The
tolerancecoupled witha balmyclimatehave exopolisis a simulacrum, an exact copyof an
givenriseto an architecture and societyfostered originalthatneverexisted,withinwhichimage
by a spiritof experimentation, risktaking,and and realityare spectacularly confused.In this
hope.Architectural dreamscapes arereadily con- "politically-numbed" society,conventional poli-
vertibleintomarketable commodities, i.e., sale- ticsis dysfunctional.OrangeCountyhasbecome
ableprepackaged landscapesengineered tosatisfy a "scamscape,"notableprincipally as home of
fantasiesofsuburban Manywriters
living.10 have massivemail-fraud operations, savingsand loan
usedthe"themepark"metaphor to describethe failures,and county-government bankruptcy
emergence ofsuchvariegated cityscapes. Forin- (1992:120).
stance,MichaelSorkin,in a collectionofessays
appropriately entitledVariationsona ThemePark
(1992), describes themeparksas placesofsimu- Fortified
City
lationwithoutend, characterized by aspatiality
plustechnological and physicalsurveillance and The downsideof the SouthernCalifornian
control.The precedentsforthismodelcan be dreamhas,ofcourse,beenthesubjectofcount-
tracedbacktotheWorld's Fairs,butSorkininsists less dystopianvisionsin histories,
movies,and
thatsomething "whollynew"is now emerging. novels.11In one powerful account,MikeDavis
 Postmodern
Urbanism 57

notedhowSouthern Californians'
obsessionwith or theself-contained "worldcitadel"clustersof
securityhastransformed theregionintoa fortress. defensibleofficetowers.
Thisshift is accurately
manifestedinthephysical One consequenceofthesociospatial differen-
formof the city,whichis dividedintofortified tiationdescribedbyDavis and Flustyis an acute
cellsofaffluence andplacesofterrorwherepolice fragmentation oftheurbanlandscape.Commen-
battlethe criminalized poor.These urbanphe- tatorswho remarkupon the strictdivisionof
nomena,accordingto Davis, have placed Los residentialneighborhoods alongrace and class
Angeles"on the hard edge of postmodernity" linesmissthefactthatL.A.'s microgeography is
(Davis 1992a:155).The dynamics offortification incredibly
volatileandvaried.In manyneighbor-
involvetheomnipresent application
ofhigh-tech hoods,simply turninga streetcornerwillleadthe
policingmethodsto the "high-rent securityof pedestrian/driverintototally
differentsocialand
gatedresidential developments"and"panopticon physicalconfigurations.One veryimportant fea-
malls."It extendsto "spacepolicing,"includinga tureoflocalneighborhood dynamics in theforti-
proposed satellite observationcapacitythat fiedcultureofSouthernCalifornian citiesis, of
wouldcreatean invisibleHaussmannization of course,thepresenceofstreetgangs(Klein1995;
Los Angeles.In theconsequent"carceralcity," Vigil1988).
theworking poorand destituteare spatially
se-
questeredon the "meanstreets," and excluded
fromtheaffluent "forbidden
cities"through "se- HistoricalGeographiesofRestructuring
curitybydesign."
Historicalgeographies ofSouthernCalifornia
arerelatively whencompared
rare,especially with
Interdictory Space thenumber ofpublished accountsofChicagoand
New York.Forreasonsthatareunclear, Los An-
Elaboratingupon Davis's fortress urbanism, gelesremains, in ourjudgment, theleaststudied
StevenFlustyobservedhowvarioustypesoffor- majorcityin theU.S. UntilMikeDavis'sCityof
haveextendeda canopyofsuppression Quartz(1990)brought
tification theurbanrecorduptothe
andsurveillance acrosstheentirecity.His taxon- present, studentsofSouthernCalifornia tended
omyofinterdictory spaces(1994:16-17) identi- to relyprincipallyon CareyMcWilliams's (1973)
fieshow spaces are designedto excludeby a seminalgeneralhistory and Fogelson'sTheFrag-
combination oftheirfunction andcognitive sen- mented Metropolis(1967),anurbanhistory ofL.A.
Some spaces are passivelyaggressive: up to 1930.Otherchronicles
sibilities. oftheurbanevolu-
spaceconcealedbyintervening objectsor grade tion of SouthernCaliforniahave focusedon
changesis "stealthy"; spacethatmaybe reached transportation (Bottles1987; Wachs1996),the
onlybymeansof interrupted or obfuscated ap- Mexican/Chicano experience (delCastillo1979),
proachesis "slippery." Otherspatialconfigura- realestatedevelopment andplanning (Erieforth-
tions are more assertivelyconfrontational: coming;Hise 1997;Weiss1987),and oil (Tygiel
deliberatelyobstructed"crusty"space sur- 1994). The politicalgeography of the regionis
roundedbywallsand checkpoints; inhospitable onlynowbeingwritten (Fulton1997;Sonenshein
"prickly"spacesfeaturing benchesin
unsittable 1993),butseveralmorebroadly-based treatments
areasdevoidofshade;or "jittery" spaceostenta- ofCalifornian politicsexist,includingexcellent
tiouslysaturatedwithsurveillancedevices.Flusty studieson art,poetryandpolitics(CandidaSmith
noteshowcombinations ofinterdictory
spacesare 1995),railways(Deverell1994), and theriseof
beingintroduced "intoeveryfacetoftheurban suburbia(Fishman1987).
environment, generatingdistinctly unfriendly In hishistory
ofLosAngelesbetween1965and
mutanttypologies" (1994:21-33). Some are in- 1992,Soja (1996a) attempts tolinktheemergent
dicativeofthepervasiveinfiltration offearinto patternsof urbanformwithunderlying social
the home, includingthe bunker-style "block- processes.He identified sixkindsofrestructuring,
home,"affluent palisaded"luxurylaager"com- whichtogether definetheregion's contemporary
munities,or low-income residential areas urbanprocess.In additionto Exopolis(noted
converted into"pocketghettos" bymilitary-style above),Soja lists:Flexcities,associatedwiththe
occupation.Othertypological formsbetray a fear transitionto post-Fordism, especiallydeindustri-
of the publicrealm,as withthe fortification of alizationandtheriseoftheinformation economy;
commercial facilities
into"strongpointsofsale," and Cosmopolis, referring to theglobalization of
58 Dear and Flusty

Los Angelesbothin termsofitsemergent world- Post-Fordist

regimesofaccumulation areasso-
citystatusanditsinternal diversifi-
multicultural ciatedwithanalogousregimesof regulation, or
cation. Accordingto Soja, peripheralization, Perhapsthemostprominent
socialcontrol. mani-
post-Fordism, and globalization
together define festationofchangesin theregimeofregulation
theexperience in LosAn-
ofurbanrestructuring has beentheretreat fromthewelfarestate.The
geles.Threespecificgeographiesareconsequent rise of neoconservatism and the privatization
uponthesedynamics: Labyrinth,
Splintered which ethoshavecoincidedwitha periodofeconomic
describestheextreme formsofsocial,economic, recessionand retrenchment whichhasled many
and politicalpolarization of the
characteristic to thebrinkofpoverty justat thetimewhenthe
postmodern city;CarceralCity,referringto the socialwelfare"safety
net"is beingwithdrawn. In
new"incendiary urbangeography"brought about Los Angeles,as in manyothercities,an acute
bythe amalgamof violenceand policesurveil- socioeconomic hasresulted.
polarization In 1984,
thetermSoja usestodescribe
lance;andSimcities, thecitywasdubbedthe"homeless capital"ofthe
thenewwaysofseeingthecitythatareemerging U.S. becauseof the concentration of homeless
fromthestudyofLos Angeles-a kindofepiste- peoplethere(see Wolch1990;Wolchand Dear
mologicalrestructuringthatforegrounds a post- 1993;Wolchand Sommer1997).
modernperspective.

Globalization
Regimesof
FordistversusPost-Fordist
Accumulationand Regulation Needless to say, any considerationof the
changing natureofindustrial production sooner
Manyobservers agreethatone ofthemostim- or latermustencompasstheglobalization ques-
portant underlying shifts in thecontemporary po- tion(cf.KnoxandTaylor1995).In hisreference
liticaleconomy is froma Fordist to a post-Fordist to the globalcontextof L.A.'s localisms,Mike
industrial organization. In a seriesof important Davis (1992b)claimsthatifL.A. is in anysense
books,AllenScottandMichaelStorper havepor- paradigmatic, itisbecausethecitycondensesthe
trayed theburgeoning urbanism ofSouthern Cali- intended andunintended spatialconsequences of
forniaas a consequence of this deep-seated post-Fordism. He insiststhatthereis no simple
structural changeinthecapitalist political
economy master-logicofrestructuring,focusinginsteadon
(Scott1988a, 1988b,1993; Storperand Walker twokeylocalizedmacro-processes: theoveraccu-
1989).Forinstance, Scott'sbasicargument is that mulationin SouthernCaliforniaof bank and
therehavebeentwomajorphasesofurbanization real-estatecapital, principallyfromthe East
intheU.S.Thefirst related toaneraofFordist mass Asian tradesurplus, and therefluxoflow-wage
production, during whichtheparadigmatic citiesof manufacturing andlabor-intensiveserviceindus-
industrial capitalism (Detroit,Chicago,Pittsburgh, tries,following upon immigration fromMexico
etc.)coalescedaroundindustries thatwerethem- and CentralAmerica.Forinstance,Davis notes
selvesbaseduponideasofmassproduction. The how the Cityof Los Angelesused tax dollars
secondphaseis associated withthedeclineofthe gleanedfrom capitalinvestments
international to
Fordist era and theriseofa post-Fordist "flexible subsidizeitsdowntown(BunkerHill) urbanre-
production." This is a formof industrial activity newal,a processhe refersto as "municipalized
basedon small-size, small-batch unitsof(typically land speculation"(1992b:26). Throughsuch
subcontracted) production thatare nevertheless connections, whathappenstodayin Asia and
integrated intoclusters ofeconomicactivity. Such CentralAmericawilltomorrow havean effect in
clusters havebeenobserved intwomanifestations: Los Angeles.This global/local dialectichas al-
labor-intensive craft forms (inLosAngeles, typically readybecomean important (ifsomewhat impre-
garments andjewelry), andhightechnology (espe- ofcontemporary
cise) leitmotif urbantheory.
ciallythedefenseand aerospaceindustries). Ac-
cordingto Scott,theseso-called"technopoles"
untilrecently constituted theprincipal geographical PoliticsofNature
lociofcontemporary (sub)urbanization inSouthern
California (a development prefiguredin Fishman s The naturalenvironment ofSouthern Califor-
description ofthe"technoburb"; seeFishman 1987; niahasbeenunderconstant assaultsincethefirst
CastellsandHall 1994). colonial settlements. Human habitationon a
 Postmodern
Urbanism 59

metropolitan scalehasonlybeenpossiblethrough on itsemasculationthroughhumanintervention

a widespread manipulation ofnature,especially
thecontrolofwaterresourcesin theAmerican
West(M. L. Davis 1993; Gottleiband FitzSim-
mons 1991; and Reisner1993). On one hand,
SouthernCalifornians tendto hold a grudging
respectfornature,livingas theydo adjacentto
one oftheearth'smajorgeological hazardsandin
a desertenvironment thatispronetoflood,land-
slide,and fire(see, forinstance,McPhee 1989;
Darlington 1996).On theotherhand,itsinhabi-
tantshave been energetically, ceaselessly,and
sometimes carelesslyunrolling thecarpetofur-
banizationoverthe naturallandscapeformore
thana century. Thisuninhibited occupationhas
engendered itsownrangeofenvironmental prob-
lems,mostnotoriously air pollution,but it also
bringsforth habitatlossand dangerousencoun-
tersbetweenhumansand otheranimals.
The forceofnatureinSouthern Californiahas
spawneda literature thatattempts toincorporate
environmental issuesintotheurbanproblematic.
The politicsof environmental regulationhave
longbeenstudiedin manyplaces,including Los
Angeles(e.g.,FitzSimmons and Gottleib1996).
The particular combination ofcircumstances in
SouthernCalifornia has stimulated an especially
politicalviewofnature,however, focusing both
(Davis 1996) and on its potentialforpolitical
mobilizationby grass-roots
movements(Pulido
1996).In addition,
Wolch'sSouthernCalifornia-
basedresearchhas led herto outlinean alterna-
tivevisionofbiogeography's
problematic (Wolch
1996).
Urbanism
Synthesis:Protopostmodern
If theseobservers of the SouthernCalifornia
scenecouldtalkwitheach otherto resolvetheir
differences and reconciletheirterminologies,
howmighttheysynthesize theirvisions?At the
riskofmisrepresenting theirwork,we suggesta
schematic thatis powerful,
yetinevitablyincom-
plete(Figure1). It suggestsa "protopostmodern"
urbanprocess,drivenby a globalrestructuring
thatis permeatedand balkanizedbya seriesof
interdictorynetworks; whosepopulations areso-
ciallyand culturally heterogeneous, but politi-
callyandeconomically polarized;whoseresidents
areeducatedand persuadedto theconsumption
ofdreamscapes evenas thepoorestareconsigned
to carceralcities;whosebuiltenvironment, re-
flectiveoftheseprocesses, consistsofedgecities,
privatopias,and thelike;and whosenaturalen-

Globalization/Restructuring

Culturesof Political-Economic
Heteropolis Polarization

Spaces
Interdictory

Dreamscapes CarceralCities
Edge Cities/Privatopia Fortified
Cities/MeanStreets

PoliticsofNature

Figure1. A conceptofprotopostmodern
urbanism.
60 Dear and Flusty

vironment, of theseprocesses,is
also reflective instancesand disciplines (e.g.,Knox and Taylor
beingerasedtothepointofunlivability
while, atthe 1995). Neologismshave been used herein cir-
sametime,providing a focusforpoliticalaction. cumstanceswhentherewereno existingterms
to describeadequatelytheconditions we sought
toidentify,whenneologisms servedas metaphors
Postmodern
Urbanism to suggestnewinsights,whena singletermmore
conveniently substitutedfora complexphraseor
The onlytheoryworth havingisthatwhichyouhave stringof ideas, and when neologisticnovelty
tofight
off,notthatwhichyouspeakwithprofound aidedour avowedefforts to rehearsethebreak.
fluency(StuartHall 1992:280). The juxtaposing ofpostmodern and moretradi-
tionalcategories ofmodernist urbanism is alsoan
Recognizingthat we may have caused some
essentialpiece of our analyticalstrategy. That
offensebycharacterizing others'workin thisway,
thereis an overlapbetweenmodernist and post-
let us move swiftlyto reconstructtheirevidence
moderncategories shouldsurprise no one;weare,
into a postmodernurban problematic(Table 2).
inevitably, buildingon existingurbanisms and
We anchor this problematicin the straightfor-
epistemologies. The consequentneologistic pas-
wardneed to account forthe evolutionofsociety
tichemaybe properly regardedas a tacticof
over timeand space. Such evolutionoccurs as a
postmodernanalysis;otherscould regardthis
combinationof deep-time (long-term)and pre-
strategy as analogousto hypothesis-generation,
sent-time(short-term) processes,and it develops
oras thepracticeofdialectics.
over several differentscales of human activity
(which we may representsummarilyas micro-,
meso-,and macroscales) (Dear 1988). The struc- UrbanPatternand Process
turingof the time-spacefabricis the resultofthe
interactionamong ecologicallysituated human
We beginwiththeassumption thaturbanism
agents in relationsof production,consumption, is madepossiblebytheexerciseofinstrumental
and coercion. We do not intend any primacyin
controloverbothhumanand nonhumanecolo-
thisorderingofcategories,but insteademphasize
gies(Figure2). The veryoccupationand utiliza-
their interdependencies-allare essential in ex-
tion of space, as well as the productionand
plainingpostmodernhuman geographies.
distribution
of commodities, dependsupon an
Our promiscuoususe of neologismsin what
anthropocentric reconfigurationofnaturalpro-
followsis quite deliberate.12This technique has
cessesandtheirproducts. As thescopeandscale
been used historicallyto good effectin many
of, and dependencyupon, globallyintegrated

Table2. Elements
ofa Postmodern
Urbanism
GLOBAL LATIFUNDIA
HOLSTEINIZATION
PRAEDATORIANISM
FLEXISM
NEW WORLD BIPOLAR DISORDER
Cybergeoisie
Protosurps
MEMETIC CONTAGION
KENO CAPITALISM
CITISTAT
Commudities
Cyburbia
Citidel
In-Beyond
Cyberia
POLLYANNARCHY
DISINFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
 Postmodern
Urbanism
consumptionincreases,institutionalaction con-
vertscomplex ecologies into monoculturedfac-
tors of productionby simplifying nature into a
globallatifundia.This process includes both ho-
mogenizinginterventions,as in Californiaagri-
culture's reliance upon vast expanses of single
crops, and forcefulinterdictionto sustain that
interventionagainstnaturalfeedbacks,as in the
aerial sprayingofpesticidesto eradicatefruitflies
attractedto these vast expanses of single crops.
Being part of nature, humanityis subjected to
analogous dynamics.Holsteinization is the process
of monoculturingpeople as consumersso as to
facilitatethe harvestingof desires,includingthe
decompositionofcommunitiesinto isolatedfam-
ily units and individuals in order to supplant
social networks of mutual support with con-
sumershedsof dependent customers.Resistance
is discouragedby means of praedatorianism, i.e.,
the forcefulinterdictionby a praedatorianguard
withvaryingdegreesof legitimacy.
The global latifundia, holsteinization, and
praedatorianismare, in one formor another,as
old as the global politicaleconomy,but the over-
archingdynamicsignalinga break withprevious
NEW WORLD BIPOLAR DISORDER
|CYBERGEOISIE ||PROTOSURPS|
memetic
contagion
Figure2. Elementsofa postmodern - 1.
urbanism
61
manifestationsisflexism,a patternofecono-cul-
turalproduction and consumption characterized
by near-instantaneous deliveryand rapidredi-
rectability
ofresourceflows.Flexism's fluidity
re-
sults fromcheaper and faster systemsof
transportationand telecommunications, globali-
zationofcapitalmarkets, and concomitant flex-
iblyspecialized,
just-in-timeproductionprocesses
enablingshortproduct-and production-cycles.
These resultin highlymobilecapitaland com-
modity flows,abletooutmaneuver geographically
fixedlabormarkets, communities, and bounded
nationstates.Globalization and rapiditypermit
capitaltoevadelong-term commitment toplace-
based socioeconomies, thusenablinga crucial
social dynamic of flexism:whereas, under
Fordism,exploitation is exercisedthroughthe
alienationof laborin the place of production,
flexismmayrequirelittleorno laborat all froma
givenlocale.Simultaneously, localdown-waging
and capitalconcentration operatesynergistically
to supplantlocallyownedenterprises withna-
tionalandsupranational chains,therebytransfer-
ringconsumercapitaland inventory selection
everfarther awayfromdirectlocalcontrol.
memetic
contagion
62 Dear and Flusty

Fromtheseexchangeasymmetries emergesa lappingin bothmembership and space,resulting

newworldbi-polar disorder. This is a globally bi- in a classofmarginalized indigenous populations
furcated socialorder,manytimesmorecompli- andperipheral immigrants whoarerelatively less
cated than conventionalclass structures, in holsteinized.
whichthoseoverseeing thegloballatifundia en- The sociocultural collisionsandintermeshings
joyconcentrated power.Thosewhoare depend- ofprotosurp affinity
groups, generated byflexist-
ent upon theircommand-and-control decisions inducedimmigration and severesocialdifferen-
findthemselves inprogressively weakerpositions, tiation, serves to produce wild memetic
pittedagainsteach otherglobally, and forcedto contagion.13This is a processbywhichcultural
acceptshrinking compensation fortheirefforts elementsofone individual or groupexertcross-
(assuming thatcompensation isoffered inthefirst overinfluences uponthecultureofanother, pre-
place). Of thetwogroups,thecybergeoisie reside viouslyunexposedindividual/group. Memetic
inthe"bighouse"ofthegloballatifundia, provid- contagionis evidencedin Los Angelesbysuch
ingindispensable, presently unautomatable com- hybridized agentsand intercultural conflicts as
mand-and-control functions. They are Mexicanand CentralAmericanpractitioners of
predominantly stockholders, thecoreemployees Afro-Caribbean religion (McGuire and
of thinned-down corporations, and write-your- Scrymgeourforthcoming), blue-bandanna'd
own-ticket freelancers (e.g.,CEOs, subcontract Thai Crips,ortheadjustments prompted bypoor
entrepreneurs, and celebrities). They mayalso African-Americans' offenseat Korean mer-
sheltermembers ofmarginal creativeprofessions, chants'disinclination to smilecasually.Memetic
who comprisea kindof paracybergeoisie. The contagion shouldnotbe takenfora mereepiphe-
cybergoisie enjoyperceivedsocioeconomic secu- nomenonof an underlying politicaleconomic
rityand comparatively long-term horizons in de- order,generating colorfullychaoticornamenta-
cisionmaking;consequently theiranxietiestend tionsfora flexistregime.Rather,it entailsthe
towardunforeseen socialdisruptions suchas mar- assemblageof novelwaysof seeingand being,
ketfluctuations and crime.Commanding, con- from whencenewidentities, cultures, andpoliti-
trolling,and prodigiously enjoying thefruits ofa cal alignments emerge.Thesenewsocialconfigu-
sharedglobalexchangeofgoodsandinformation, rations,in turn,may act to forcechange in
thecybergoisie exerciseglobalcoordination func- existing institutionsandstructures, andtospawn
tionsthatpredispose themto a similarideology cognitive conceptions thatareincommensurable
and,thus,theyarerelatively heavilyholsteinized. with,thoughnotnecessarily anylessvalidthan,
Protosurps,on theotherhand,are theshare- existing models.The inevitable tensions between
croppersof the globallatifundia. They are in- theanarchicdiversification bornofmemetic con-
creasingly marginalized "surplus" laborproviding tagionand themanipulations oftheholsteiniza-
just-in-time serviceswhencalleduponbyflexist tion processmayyet proveto be the central
productionprocesses,but otherwisealienated culturalcontradiction offlexism.
fromglobalsystems ofproduction (thoughnotof Withthe flexist imposition of globalimpera-
consumption). Protosurps includetemporary or tiveson localeconomiesandcultures, thespatial
daylaborers, fire-at-will serviceworkers, a bur- logicof Fordismhas givenwayto a new,more
geoningclassofintra-andinternational itinerant dissonant internationalgeographical order.
In the
laborers specializinginpursuing themigrations of absence of conventionalcommunication and
fluidinvestment. Truesurpdom isa stateofsuper- transportation imperatives mandatingpropin-
fluitybeyondpeonage-a vagrancythatis in- quity,the once-standard ChicagoSchool logic
creasinglycriminalizedthroughantihomeless hasgivenwayto a seemingly haphazard juxtapo-
ordinances,welfare-state erosion,and wide- sitionoflandusesscattered overthelandscape.
spreadcommunity intolerance(of,forinstance, Worldwide, lands sproutmonocul-
agricultural
all forms ofpanhandling). Protosurps are called turesofexportable strawberry orbroccoliin lieu
upontoprovideas yetunautomated servicefunc- ofdiversestaplecropsgrownforlocalconsump-
tionsdesignedto be performed byanyone.Sub- tion.Sittingamidthesefields, identicalassembly
jected to high degreesof uncertainty by the linesproducethesamebrandofautomobile, sup-
omnipresent threatof instantunemployment, pliedwithpartsandmanagedfrom distantconti-
protosurps are proneto clustering into affinity nents.Expensivecondominiums appearamong
groupsforsupport in thefaceofadversity. These squatterslums,indistinguishable in formandoc-
affinitygroups, however, arenotexclusive, over- cupancyfrom(and oftenin directcommunica-
 Postmodern
Urbanism 63

tion with)luxuryhousingbuiltatop homeless habitatpreferences ofthewell-recompensed cy-

encampments elsewhere intheworld.Yetwhatin bergeoisie.They commonly consistof carefully
close-upappearsto be a fragmentary, collaged manicured residential and commercial ecologies
polycultureis,froma longerperspective, a geo- managedthroughprivatopianself-administra-
graphically disjointedbut hyperspatially inte- tion,and maintained againstinternaland exter-
gratedmonoculture, thatis, shuffled samesset nal outlaws by a repertoireof interdictory
amid adaptiveand persistent local variations. prohibitions.Increasingly, theseprepackaged en-
The resultis a landscapenotunlikethatformed vironments jockeywithone anotherforclientele
bya kenogamecard. The carditselfappearsas a on thebasisofrecreational, cultural,security,and
numbered grid,withsomesquaresbeingmarked educational amenities. Commonly locatedon dif-
duringthe courseof the gameand othersnot, ficult-to-accesssiteslikehilltopsor urbanedges,
accordingto some randomdraw.The process farfromrestless populations undergoing conver-
governingthis markingultimately determines sion to protosurpdom, individualcommudities
whichplayerwillachievea jackpot-winning pat- are increasingly teleintegrated to formcyburbia
tern;itis,however, determined bya rationalized (Dewey1994),theinteractive tollways compris-
setofprocedures beyondtheterritory ofthecard ingthehigh-rent districtofCitistat's hyperspatial
Similarly,
itself. theapparently randomdevelop- electronicshadow.(Thisprocessmaysoonfinda
mentand redevelopment of urbanland maybe geographical analogintheconversion ofautomo-
regardedas the outcomeof exogenousinvest- tivefreeways linkingcommudities via exclusive
mentprocesses inherent toflexism, thuscreating tollways.)Teleintegration is alreadycomplete
thelandscapesofkenocapitalism. (andde rigeur) forthecitidels, whicharecommer-
Keno capitalism's contingent mosaicof vari- cialcommodities consisting ofhighrise corporate
egatedmonocultures rendersdiscussionof "the towersfromwhichthecontroland coordination
city"increasingly reductionist. Moreholistically, and distribution in thegloballati-
ofproduction
thedispersed netofmegalopoles maybe viewed
fundiais exercised.
as a singleintegrated urbansystem, or Citistat
Citista-t's
internalperiphery and repository of
(Figure3). Citistat, thecollectiveworldcity,has
cheap on-calllaborlies at the in-beyond, com-
emergedfromcompeting urbanwebsofcolonial
prisedof a shifting matrixof protosurp affinity
andpostcolonial erastobecomea geographically
clusters.The in-beyond maybe envisionedas a
diffusehubofan omnipresent periphery, drawing
patchworkquilt of variouslydefinedinterest
laborandmaterials fromreadilysubstitutable lo-
groups(withdiffering levelsof economic,cul-
cationsthroughout thatperiphery. Citistatisboth
in thesensethaturban tural,and streetinfluence), none ofwhichpos-
geographically corporeal,
placesexist,and yetageographically etherealin sesses the wherewithal to achieve hegemonic
the sensethatcommunication systems createa statusor to secede.Secessionmayoccurlocally
virtualspace, permitting coordinationacross to somedegree,as in the cases of the publicly
physicalspace. Both realmsreinforce each an- subsidizedreconfiguration ofL.A.'s LittleTokyo,
otherwhile(re)producing thenewworldbipolar and theconsolidation ofKoreatown through the
disorder. import, adjacentextraction, and community re-
Materially,Citistatconsistsof commudities circulationofcapital.The piecemealdiversity of
(centersofcommandandcontrol), andthein-be- thein-beyond makesita hotbedofwildmemetic
yond(internal peripheries simultaneously under- contagion.The globalconnectivity ofthein-be-
goingbutresisting instrumentalization in myriad yondis considerably lessglamorous thanthatof
ways).Virtually, Citistatconsistsofcyburbia, the the cybergeoisie's commodities, butit is no less
collectionof state-of-the-art data-transmission, extensive.Intermittent phonecontactandwire-
premiumpay-per-use, and interactive services serviceremittancesoccur throughout cyberia
generallyreliantuponcostlyand technologically (Rushkoff 1995;alsosee KnoxandTaylor1995).
complexinterfaces; and cyberia,an electronic The pot-holedpublicstreetsofCitista-t's virtual
outlandofrudimentary communications includ- twinare augmentedby extensivenetworksof
ing basic phone serviceand telegraphy, inter- snailmail,personalmigration, and thehand-to-
wovenwithandpreceptorally conditioned bythe handpassageofmediatedcommunications (e.g.,
disinformation superhighway (DSH). cassettetapes). Such contactsoccasionallydif-
Commudities are commodified communities fuseintocommodities, as withtheconversion of
createdexpressly to satisfy (and profitfrom)the cybergeosie youthto wannabegangstas.
64 Dear and Flusty

DISINFORMATIONSUPERHIGHWAY

/CBER EI IEa /ROTOSURPa

COMMUDI IES | IN-BEYOND

< ~~memetic
contagionX

POLLYANNRCY
Figure3. Elements
ofa postmodern - 2.
urbanism

Politicalrelations inCitistattendtowardpoly- bolicvalueofcommodities. At thesametime,it

anarchy, a politicsofgrudging toleranceofdiffer- servesas thehighly filtered
sensory organthrough
ence that emerges from interactions and whichcommodities and thein-beyond perceive
accommodations withinthe in-beyond and be- theworldoutsidetheirunmediated dailyexperi-
tweencommodities, andlessfrequently, between ences. The DSH is Citistat's"consentfactory"
in-beyondand commudity. Its morepervasive (Chomsky and Herman1988),engineering me-
formis pollyannarchy, an exaggerated, manufac- meticcontagionto encourageparticipation in a
turedoptimism thatpromotes a self-congratula- globallatifundia thatisrepresented as bothinevi-
toryawareness andrespectfordifference andthe tableanddesirable. ButsincetheDSH isa broad-
asymmetries of power.Pollyannarchy is thusa band distributorof informationdesigned
pathological form ofpolyanarchy, disempowering primarily to attractand deliverconsumersto
thosewhowouldchallengethecontrolling bene- advertisers, the ultimatereceptionof messages
ficiaries
ofthenewworldbipolardisorder. Polly- carriedby the DSH is difficult to targetand
annarchy is evidentin thecontinuing spectacle predetermine. ThustheDSH alsoservesinadver-
ofelectoralpolitics, orin thecitywide unitycam- tentlyas a vectorformemetic contagion, e.g.,the
paignrun by corporatesponsorsfollowing the conversionof cybergeoisie youthto wannabe
1992uprising in Los Angeles. gangstas viathedissemination ofhip-hopculture
Wiredthroughout thebodyofthe Citistatis overcommudity boundaries. The DSH servesas
thedisinformation superhighway(orDSH), a mass a networkof preceptoral control,and is thus
info-tain-mercial mediaownedby roughly two distinctfromthe coercivemechanismsof the
dozen cybergeoisie institutions.
The DSH dis- praedatorian guard.Overlapbetweenthetwois
seminates holsteinizing ideologiesandincentives, increasingly common,however, as in thecase of
createswantsand dreams,and inflates thesym- televiseddisinfotainment programs like Amer-
 Postmodern
Urbanism
ica'sMostWanted,in whichcrimesaredramati-
callyreenactedandviewers invitedtocallin and
betrayallegedperpetrators.
As thecybergeoisie increasingly withdraw from
theFordist redistributive triadofbiggovernment,
bigbusiness, and biglaborto establish theirown
micronations, thesocialsupport functions ofthe
statedisintegrate,alongwiththesurvivability of
less affluentcitizens.The globalmigrations of
workto thelowest-wage locationsofthein-be-
yond,and of consumercapitalto the citidels,
resultin powerasymmetries thatbecomeso pro-
nouncedthateventheDSH is at timesincapable
of obscuringthem,leavingprotosurps increas-
inglydisinclined to adhereto theremnants ofa
tatteredsocialcontract.This instability in turn
createsthepotential forviolence,pitting Citistat
andcybergeoisie againsttheprotosurp in-beyond,
and leadinginevitably to a demandforthesup-
pressionofprotosurp intractibility.
The praeda-
torian guard thus emergesas the principal
remaining vestigeof the police powersof the
state.This increasingly privatizedpublic/private
partnership ofmercenary sentries,
policeexpedi-
tionaryforces,andtheirtechnological extensions
(e.g.,videocameras,helicopters, criminological
datauplinks, etc.)watchesoverthecommudities
andminimizes disruptiveness byactingas a force
ofoccupationwithinthein-beyond. The praeda-
torianguardachievescontrolthrough coercion,
evenat theinternational levelwhereasymmetri-
cal traderelationsare reinforced bythemilitary
and itsclientele.It mayonlybe a matteroftime
beforethe local and nationalpraedatorians are
administrativelyand functionally merged, as ex-
emplified byproposals todeploymilitary unitsfor
policinginner-city streetsor the U.S.-Mexico
border.
An Alternative
Model ofUrbanStructure
We have beguntheprocessofinterrogating
priormodelsof urbanstructure withan alter-
native model based upon the recentexperi-
ences of Los Angeles.We do not pretendto
havecompletedthisproject,norclaimthatthe
SouthernCalifornian experienceis necessarily
typicalofothermetropolitan regionsin theU.S.
or the world.Still less wouldwe advocatere-
placingthe old modelswitha new hegemony.
But discoursehas to startsomewhere,and by
now it is clear that the most influentialof
existingurbanmodelsis no longertenableas a
65
guide to contemporary urbanism.In thisfirst
sense,ourinvestigation hasuncoveredanepiste-
mologicalradical breakwith past practices,
which in itselfis sufficient justificationfor
somethingcalled a Los Angeles School. The
concentric ringstructure oftheChicagoSchool
was essentiallya conceptof the cityas an or-
ganic accretionaround a central,organizing
core.Instead,we have identified a postmodern
urban processin which the urban periphery
organizesthe centerwithinthe contextof a
globalizingcapitalism.
The postmodern urbanprocessremainsreso-
lutelycapitalist,but the natureof thatenter-
prise is changingin very significantways,
especiallythrough(forinstance)the telecom-
munications revolution, thechangingnatureof
work,and globalization.Thus, in thissecond
sensealso,we understand thata radicalbreakis
occurring,this timein the conditionsof our
materialworld.Contemporaryurbanismis a
consequenceofhow local and interlocalflows
of materialand information (includingsym-
bols) intersectin a rapidlyconverging globally
integrated economydrivenbythe imperatives
offlexism.Landscapesandpeoplesarehomoge-
nized to facilitatelarge-scaleproductionand
consumption. Highlymobilecapitaland com-
modityflowsoutmaneuver geographicallyfixed
labormarkets, communities, and nation-states,
and cause a globallybifurcatedpolarization.
The beneficiaries of thissystemare the cyber-
goisie,even as the numbersof permanently
marginalizedprotosurpsgrow. In the new
global order,socioeconomicpolarizationand
massive,suddenpopulationmigrations spawn
culturalhybridsthroughthe processof me-
meticcontagion.Cities no longerdevelop as
concentrated loci ofpopulationand economic
activity,butas fragmented parcelswithinCiti-
stat,the collectiveworldcity.Materially,the
Citistatconsistsofcommodities(commodified
communities)and the in-beyond(the perma-
nentlymarginalized). Virtually, the Citistatis
composedof cyburbia(thosehookedinto the
electronicworld)and cyberia(thosewho are
not).Social orderismaintained bytheideologi-
cal apparatusoftheDSH, theCitistat'sconsent
factory,and by the praedatorianguard,the
privatizedvestigesof the nation-state's police
powers.
Keno capitalism is thesynoptic termthatwe
have adoptedto describethespatialmanifesta-
tionsofthepostmodern urbancondition(Figure
66 Dear and Flusty

DSH/Interdictory
Spaces Ethnoburb
P Edge Cities Containment
Centers
WThemeParks
RI GaTedCommunities
GatedCommunities ~ D Consumption
Opportunities
>%q StreetWarfare Command& Control
Centers
hACorporateCitadels Spectacle
Figure4. KenoCapitalism:
a modelofpostmodern
urbanstructure.

4). Urbanization is occurringon a quasi-random globalcity(not to mentiongeopoliticaltransi-

fieldofopportunities. Capitaltouchesdownas if tions,as nation-states
givewayto micro-nation-
bychanceon a parcelofland,ignoring theoppor- alismsand transnationalmafias),the cityas
tunitieson intervening lots,thussparkingthe gamingboard seems an especiallyappropriate
development process.The relationship between twenty-firstcenturysuccessorto theconcentri-
development ofone parcelandnondevelopment callyringedcityoftheearlytwentieth.
of anotheris a disjointed, seemingly unrelated
affair.While not trulya randomprocess,it is
evidentthatthe traditional, center-driven ag- Conclusion:
Invitation
to a
glomeration economiesthathave guidedurban
development in thepastno longerapply.Con- Postmodern
Urbanism
ventional cityform, Chicago-style,issacrificed
in
favorof a noncontiguous collageof parcelized, Tellme,they'll
saytome.So wewillunderstand
and
be ableto resolve
things.
They'll
be mistaken.
It's
consumption-oriented landscapesdevoidofcon- onlythings youdon'tunderstand
thatyoucanre-
ventionalcentersyetwiredintoelectronic pro- solve.Therewillbe no resolution.
(PeterHoeg,
pinquity and nominally unified by the 1993:453).
mythologies ofthedisinformation superhighway.
Los Angelesmaybe a matureformofthispost- Our notionof keno capitalismis necessarily
modernmetropolis; Las Vegascomesto mindas partialand positional,
not a metanarrativebut
a youthfulexample.The consequent urbanaggre- morea micronarrative awaitingdialogicalen-
gateis characterized byacutefragmentation and gagementwithalternativeconceptionsof the
specializationa partitioned gamingboardsub- urban,bothfromwithinLos Angelesand else-
jectto perverse lawsand peculiarly discrete,
dis- where.Althoughit is impossible
forus to begin
jointedurbanoutcomes.Given the pervasive an exercisein comparative
urbananalysisat this
presence ofcrime, corruption,andviolenceinthe point,we concludewithsomegeneralobserva-
 Postmodern
Urbanism 67

tionsabouta researchagenda.Our knowledge of Each ofthesethemes(globalization, polariza-

theliterature suggests at leastfourbroadthemes tion,fragmentation and culturalhybrids, andcy-
thatoverlapwiththesubstanceofthisessay. bercities) holds a place in our postmodern
(1) World City:In itscontemporary manifesta- urbanism. But (as we hopeis bynowclear)none
tion,theemphasis on a system ofworldcitiescan ofthemindividually providea sufficientexplana-
be tracedback to PeterHall's The WorldCities tionforthe urbanoutcomeswe are currently
(1966). The conceptwas updatedbyFriedmann observing. A properaccounting ofcontemporary
andWolff (1982) to emphasize theemergence of patternand processwillrequirea muchmore
a relativelyfewcentersofcommandand control strenuous effort directedtowardcomparative ur-
ina globalizing economy. Extensions andapprais- bananalysis. Unfortunately, theempirical, meth-
alsoftheconcepthavebeenoffered in,forexam- odological, andtheoretical basesforsuchanalysis
ple,KnoxandTaylor(1995) and specialissuesof areweak.We lack,forinstance,adequateinfor-
UrbanGeography (1996) and theAnnalsofthe mationon a fullsampleofnationaland interna-
American Academy ofPolitical and SocialScience tionalcities,although valuablecurrent syntheses
("Globalizationand the ChangingU.S. City" areavailablein UrbanGeography (1996) and the
1997).A significant emphasis in themorerecent AnnalsoftheAmerican AcademyofPolitical and
workhas been on the global-localconnection, SocialSciences("Globalization and theU.S. City"
and on theimplications ofthesheersizeofthe 1997). Thereare a numberofexplicitcompara-
emergent megacities (Dogan and Kasarda1988; tivestudies,but thesetendto focuson already
Sudjic1992). well,documented centerssuchas London,Tokyo,
(2) Dual City:One of the most persistent and New YorkCity(e.g.,Fainstein1994;Sassen
themesin contemporary urbananalysisis social 1991). In contrast, thevibrancy and potential of
polarization, i.e.,theincreasing gapbetweenrich important centerssuch as Miami stillremain
and poor;betweenthepowerful and powerless;
closeted(Nijman1996,1997;PortesandStepick
betweendifferent ethnic,racial,and religious 1993).Ourmethodological andtheoretical appa-
groupings; andbetweengenders(O'Loughlinand
ratusesforcross-cultural urbananalysesarealso
Friedrichs1996;Mollenkopf and Castells1991).
underdeveloped. Castells(1996, 1997) offers an
Toofewanalyseshavetracedhowthisbroadclass
insightfulengagement withglobalurbancondi-
ofpolarizations istranslated intothespatialstruc-
tions,andthetheoretical insights ofEllin(1996),
tureofcities(e.g.,Ley1996;Sassen1991,1994).
(3) Altered spaces:Anotherprevalentcondi- King (1996), and Soja (1996b) on a putative
tionofcontemporary urbanexistence isfragmen- postmodern urbanismare muchneededexcur-
tation,bothin materialand cognitive life.It has sions into a neglected field.14In addition,
been notedbyobservers who place themselves ChauncyHarris's(1997) recentreworking ofhis
bothwithinand beyondthe postmodern ethos multiplenucleimodelintowhathe termsa pe-
(see,forinstance, WatsonandGibson1995,and ripheralmodelof urbanareas revealsan acute
the essaysin the Cityjournal ["It All Comes sensitivityto thecontemporary urbancondition,
Together inLosAngeles"1996]).Theirconcerns but engagestheoretical preceptsquitedifferent
oftenfocuson thecollapseofconventional com- fromours.Finally, workon citiesofthedevelop-
munitiesand theriseofnewculturalcategories ing,postcolonial,and non-Western worldsre-
and spaces,including especially culturalhybrids mainssparseand unsustained, as well as being
(Canclini 1996; Olalquiaga 1992; Morleyand stubbornly immunefromthebroaderlessonsof
Robins1995;Zukin1994). Western-based theory-eventhoughtheempiri-
(4) Cybercity: No one can ignorethe chal- cal parallelsbetween,forexample,Seabrook's
lengesoftheinformation age,whichpromises to (1996) subtitle,"Scenes froma Developing
unseatmanyofourcherished notionsaboutso- World"and ourconstruction ofpostmodern ur-
ciospatialstructuring. Castells(1996, 1997) has banismarestriking.
undertaken an ambitious three-volume account We intendthisessayas an invitation to exam-
ofthissocialrevolution, butas yetrelatively few ine theconceptof a postmodern urbanism. We
people (beyondscience-fiction authorssuch as recognizethatwe have onlybegunto sketchits
WilliamGibsonand Neal Stephenson)haveex- potential,thatits validitywillonlybe properly
ploredwhatthisrevolution portendsforcities. assessedifresearchers elsewhere in theworldare
One pioneering exceptionisWilliam J.Mitchell's willingtoexamineitsprecepts. Weurgeothersto
CityofBits(1995). sharein thisenterprise because,eventhoughour
68 Dear and Flusty
visionistentative,
weareconvincedthatwehave
glimpsed a newwayofunderstandingcities.15
Acknowledgments
Earlier
versionsofthispaperhavebeenpresented at
a "Theory, Culture & Society" conferenceinBerlin,
theUniversity ofTurku onbehalf oftheFinnishAcad-
emyofScience,theHowellLecture in theSchoolof
Architecture, Universityof Nebraska-Lincoln, the
SchoolofArchitecture, Building andPlanning, Uni-
versityofMelbourne, theannualmeetings oftheAs-
sociationofCollegiateSchoolsofArchitectureandthe
Association ofAmerican Geographers, andtheCenter
forAdvanced StudyintheBehavioral Sciences,Stan-
fordUniversity.WearegratefultoScottLashandMike
Featherstone, HarriAnderson andJouni Hikli,Ross
KingandRuthFincher, SharonLordGaber, andRobert
Harris forinvitations
topresent papersontheseocca-
sions.Thanks alsotothemany conferenceparticipants
whoprovided constructive KimDovey,
criticism. Ruth
Fincher,Robert Harris,John CarolLevy,
Kaliski, John
Levy, ClaudioMinca,JanNijman, KevinRobins, Mi-
chaelWebber, andJennifer Wolchweresupportive of
theenterprise andoffered helpfulcomments, as dida
numberof anonymous referees.Deanna Knicker-
bocker andDallasDishman preparedthefigures.
None
ofthesepeopleshould beblamed foranythinginthis
essay.Thispaperwasfirst writtenwhileDearwasa
fellowattheCenter forAdvanced StudyintheBehav-
ioralSciencesatStanford. Thesupport oftheCenter
andtheNational ScienceFoundation SES-9022192 is
gratefully
acknowledged.
Notes
1. See,forexample, Pred(1995)andAuge(1995).
2. Someelements ofthisdiscussion
maybefound in
Watsonand Gibson(1995),Ellin(1996),and
KnoxandTaylor (1995).
3. Thetheoreticalbasesforthisargumentareexam-
inedmorefullyinDear(1988,1991).Forspecific
considerations
oftherhetoric in
ofcityplanning
thenewurbanism, seeDear(1989).
4. Thisshould notbeconfusedwiththeL.A.School
of architecture,
discussedby CharlesJencks
(1993).
5. The term"school"is problematic, but we
herefollow JenniferPrattandusethetermto
referto "a collectionofindividuals working
inthesameenvironment whoat thetimeand
throughtheirown retrospective construc-
tionsoftheiridentity andtheimpartations of
intellectualhistoriansare definedas repre-
sentinga distinctapproachto a scholarly
endeavor"(1995:2).
6. Forexample, Longstreth (1997) examines therole
of Los Angelesin theinventionof the regional
shopping mall.See alsoHayden(1994).
7. The claimsofa "Los AngelesSchool"mayhave
alreadybeenovertaken bya burgeoning "Orange
CountySchool."Accordingto MarkGottdiener
andGeorgeKephartinPostsuburban California, it
isOrangeCountythatistheparadigmatic window
on late-twentieth-century urbanism:
We havefocussedon whatwe considerto be a
newformofsettlement space-the fully urban-
ized,multinucleated, andindependent county.
. . formally
separatedfrombutadjacentto large
well-known metropolitan regions.... As a new
formofsettlement space,theyarethefirst such
occurrence in fivethousandyearsofurbanhis-
tory(1991:51).
Postsuburban districts,theyfurther state,"possess
relativelylarge populations;theyare polynu-
cleated,withno singlecenterthat dominates
development as it does in the traditional urban
model;and theypossessrelatively robustemploy-
mentbases and also serveas residential areas,
especiallyforthewhitemiddleclass"(p.51). Such
districtsappearto be identifiable byfourcharac-
teristics:"postsuburban spatialorganization, in-
formation capitalism, consumerism, and
cosmopolitanism" (1991:4).
8. Rabanfs viewfindsechoesin theseminalworkof
de Certeau(1984).
9. It isworthemphasizing thatin theoverview, we
focus solely on the concatenationof urban
events that are occurringin contemporary
SouthernCalifornia.This is notto suggestthat
such trendsare absentin othercities,northat
a largerliterature on thesetopicsand citiesis
missing.A complete review of these other
places and literaturesis simplybeyond the
scope ofthispaper.
10. Such sentimentsfindechoes in Neil Smith's
assessmentof the new urban frontier, where
expansionis poweredby two industries:real-
estate developers (who package and define
value), and themanufacturers ofculture(who
define taste and consumptionpreferences)
(Smith1992:75).
11. The listof L.A. novelsand moviesis endless.
Typicalof the dystopiancinematicvisionare
"BladeRunner"(RidleyScott1986) and"China-
town"(RomanPolanski1974); and ofsillyopti-
mism,"L.A. Story"(MickJackson1991).
12. One criticaccusedus (quitecleverly)of"neolo-
gorrhea."
13. Thistermis a combination ofReneGirard's"mi-
meticcontagion"and animalethologist Richard
Dawkin'shypothesis thatculturalinformations
are gene-type units,or "memes,"transmitted vi-
rus-like fromhead to head. We hereemploythe
term"hybridized" in recognition of the recency
and noveltyof the combination, not to assert
 Postmodern
Urbanism 69

some priorpurityto the componentelements Castells,M. 1997.TheInformation Age:Economy, Soci-

forming thehybrid. ety,and Culture, vol. 1: The RiseoftheNetwork
14. The collectionofessaysassembledin Benkoand Society,and vol. 2: The PowerofIdentity. Cam-
Strohmayer (1997) isan excellent
overview ofthe bridge:Blackwell.
betweenspace and postmodernism,
relationship and Hall, P 1994.Technopoles oftheWorld: The
includingthe urbanquestion.Kevin Robins's Makingofthe21stCentury Complexes.
Industrial
valuableworkon media,visualcultures, andrep- NewYork:Routledge.
resentational
issuesalsodeservesa wideaudience Cenzatti,M. 1993. Los Angelesand theL.A. School:
(e.g.,Robins1996;MorleyandRobins1995). Postmodernism and UrbanStudies.Los Angeles:
15. A muchfullertreatment ofthisassertion
is tobe Los AngelesForumforArchitecture and Urban
foundin Dear (forthcoming). Design.
Chomsky,N. and Herman,E. 1988. Manufacturing
Consent. NewYork:PantheonBooks.
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