Last weekend, I went to Sawtelle with a couple of friends. We took the bus there and back, which is always an interesting experience because public transportation is definitely not something I'm used to at all. We actually took it a little ways down, east on Wilshire, and walked from there to a tea shop in Sawtelle, where we took the Culver City bus back to UCLA. The area Sawtelle is probably most well-known among us college students for Sawtelle Boulevard, which has a bunch of Japanese restaurants and shops. I want to connect this to the concept we learned in lecture about Los Angeles having multiple centers. As mentioned in lecture, Los Angeles has not had a real 'center' since the 1920s. Sawtelle is its own center, just as to us, UCLA is also a sort of a center. The area I visited this week houses a younger, trendier Japanese American community, as opposed to Little Tokyo, which is an older, more historical district and again its own center for a distinct group. I think the decentralised structure of the city is what allows diversity to flourish. Groups that are alike, have the same interest, or brought together by culture can concentrate in one area and be their own community, but still be part of a larger metropolis. The agglomeration helps businesses out by providing mutual support and resources. I feel it also helps people not feel so lost in such a big city, because they have a smaller, closer community they can go home to. On the other hand, as I have mentioned in the post about Orange County, decentralisation can also keep groups from interacting with each other. Without one central business district, there is less reason to all come together, and instead of the city being the center, the individual becomes his own center. I think the multi-centered city can help individuals find his place in the community, but it's just as important for him to venture out and not get stuck within his own little bubble.
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One of the many nurseries we see as we walk down Sawtelle Blvd. Gardens are a pretty significant part of Japanese American culture.
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I really enjoy reading your blog post. You demonstrated sawtelle area very detail. I actually live in here (Olympic and sawtelle blvd) so this is the area that I am very familiar with. As you mentioned, Los Angeles is a city that has multiple centers. Sawtelle is an area where we can see mostly Asian (Japanese American) people. Two plazas mainly create the central of this area, which contains lots of Japanese restaurants. Compare to little Tokyo where I just went few weeks ago, sawtelle is younger and smaller than little Tokyo. There is no historical architecture. Furthermore, I agree that a city has multiple center makes people more used to stay in a city because everywhere is different, no matter food, scenery, culture , etc. everyone can find a place to feel comfortable with.
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