I hope finals are treating you all. For my final blog post, I'm discussing Santa Monica. The most definitive characteristic of Santa Monica is most certainly the fact that it is a beach amongst an urban landscape. In this post, I'm going to focus on what coastlines mean to different major urban areas and how Santa Monica strays or coincides from these norms.
Most major cities in the United States and throughout the planet in general are typically placed near coastlines. This was mostly due to the abundance of water and other natural resources. Coastlines and beaches serve different purposes in different major cities. For many urban meccas, the coastline for their city is primarily a site for commerce and trade. Their have been ports establish mostly for the harboring of trade ships. This made the waters of major cities no longer pristine or even inhabitable for leisure. A topic in class was "Mega Cities." These cities hold over 10 Million people. When discussing environmental management, it was obvious that these major cities were especially vulnerable to environmental hazards due to their destruction of their own natural resources.
With that knowledge, its strange to see the condition of Santa Monica is comparison the the coastlines of major cities around the world. The most apparent form of commerce is not trade, but tourism. If there is one street that calls for discussion in Santa Monica, it's Third Street Promenade. Right in the heart of this beach city, its filled with shopping, restaurants, and tourism. Once you leave Third Street, you're on the beach. This landscape contrasts with the major harbors of New York City or Chicago. This beach is for leisure and enjoyment. There aren't barges or oil wells. The closest thing to manufacturing is the pier, covered in rides and games. The water is relatively clean and a public reserve for all to enjoy.
Now let's examine the social differences that exist in Santa Monica. This beach city, in congruence with most of West LA, is quite wealthy. With this apparent wealth allows for a very stark social contrast. Upon entering Santa Monica, the presence of homeless people is almost impossible to ignore. These people stand out amongst all the high end shops and beautiful housing. After spending a few hours walking along the boardwalk and beach it became clear as to why there was so many homeless crammed into one area. The reason for this was the high amount of social programs that the city provides. At 5:00 PM, I saw a line half a mile long of people waiting in line for free food. Through the lens of what I had learned in class, it was clear that the city's response to the high homeless population was to assist them. The city's solution was social programs to help keep these people healthy to help them eventually rehabilitate back into society. This prevalence of social programming is a stark contrast from the Neo Liberalsim of modern cities.
Here's a photo of the very tourist friendly Santa Monica pier:
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