What do you think?
Rate this book
Globalizing L.A.: Trade, Infrastructure, and Regional Development
How do city-regions successfully compete in the global age? Mixing history and policy analysis, Steven Erie offers a compelling account of the improbable rise of Los Angeles, explaining how a region with no natural harbor and a metropolis situated a distant 20 miles from the coast managed to become the world's ninth largest economy and a leading trade and transportation center. In Globalizing L.A. , he argues that physical infrastructure development was a catalytic yet underappreciated factor in the transformation of L.A. and Southern California into a global economy, provocatively challenging the conventional wisdom that emphasizes information flows, intellectual property rights, or social capital. The book also highlights the unheralded role of local political institutions and public entrepreneurs in shaping the region's development, growth, and globalization.
330 pages, Paperback
First published February 24, 2004
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 25, 2014
"The semi-autonomous public port and airport system that evolved was capable of long-term strategic planning, competitive pricing, and major capital improvements." (41)
"Whereas the railroad saw Los Angeles's future as a Riviera of the West, a tourist resort and retirement community for the affluent, Otis and the Chamber saw the city as a future West Coast Chicago. These sharply contrasting visions of the region's future sparked a colonial revolt to liberate Los Angeles from the SP's grasp." (50)
"In 2001, upward of one-quarter ... of the Greater Los Angeles ... economy depended on global trade, up from 13 percent in 1972." (211)
"With L.A. County alone losing two hundred thousand aerospace jobs, the regions historically low unemployment rate climbed to 50 percent above the national average. ... Twenty-seven percent of the total U.S. job loss took place in the five-county metropolitan area. International trade helped revitalize, restructure, and rebuild a shattered economy. Between 1990 and 2001, the five-county region gained more international trade jobs than it had lost in aerospace/high-tech employment." (214)
"Southern California's aspirations to become a leading export-based world trade center (rather than merely the nation's top Pacific Rim import gateway) rest, in large measure, upon its uncertain airport future." (232)
"Whereas the railroad saw Los Angeles's future as a Riviera of the West, a tourist resort and retirement community for the affluent, Otis and the Chamber saw the city as a future West Coast Chicago. These sharply contrasting visions of the region's future sparked a colonial revolt to liberate Los Angeles from the SP's grasp." (50)
"In 2001, upward of one-quarter ... of the Greater Los Angeles ... economy depended on global trade, up from 13 percent in 1972." (211)
"With L.A. County alone losing two hundred thousand aerospace jobs, the regions historically low unemployment rate climbed to 50 percent above the national average. ... Twenty-seven percent of the total U.S. job loss took place in the five-county metropolitan area. International trade helped revitalize, restructure, and rebuild a shattered economy. Between 1990 and 2001, the five-county region gained more international trade jobs than it had lost in aerospace/high-tech employment." (214)
"Southern California's aspirations to become a leading export-based world trade center (rather than merely the nation's top Pacific Rim import gateway) rest, in large measure, upon its uncertain airport future." (232)
Displaying 1 of 1 review