What Goes On In LA, Stays In LA Panel At The PSFK Conference Los Angeles

ON THE CENTER OF LA

TONY – They keep trying to make malls and walks in LA but they fail. Some people think that the Grove is working and it’s a center for LA. The center of town is where you protest and write. La Brea and Sunset. We’re writing around Vermont & Ten. Protesting is the same way – weird riots at Macarthur park. It speaks to LA on how truly diverse we are and there isn’t a center. That fuels the independence of LA.

SHANA – If you asks someone where the center of NYC it depends on their values and sensibility. In LA, you need is help navigating where you need to go. But all the neighborhoods are all fantastic and are all different. And everyone is zealous about where they live. There’s a tribal thing and people put effort into building culture into their neighborhood.

JEFF – Maybe the city centers are streets. If you live in Silverlake, the hipster culture is a certain street.

TONY – Maybe the city centers are the freeways – the 405 and 101. We don’t want it to be like that, but hey. I’m so against building downtown without a huge traffic solution. They built all these condos – but how do people get around. What’s going to happen when the Lakers are good and everyone wants to go there to see them?

TONY – I’ve been very skeptical of the downtown renaissance and I can’t imagine living there. But there’s a Ralph’s open to 2am – people must be living there. I’m slowly beginning to believe that Downtown could happen. I think if it does, we’ll be in a very different city in 10 years time.

SHANA –People are beginning to think about what a new train line might do. Everyone is also moving East and maybe Downtown might become the real Downtown.

SHANA: I see LA as one big metaphor for the internet – a sprawl with nodes but not one center.

Keep an eye on PSFK for the video of this panel.