| For decades, California has been known as a | | | | elaborate mansions that still dominate the |
| land of lots of cars and long | | | | area north on Beverly Boulevard. The actual |
| commutes--commutes that turn freeways into | | | | boom began in 2004, when gas prices began to |
| endless parking lots. But with the price of | | | | rise rapidly. |
| gas heading above $3.00 a gallon, even | | | | |
| Californians are beginning to look into the | | | | Suddenly, both small and large builders began |
| possibility of living closer to downtown | | | | to realize that consumer sentiment concerning |
| areas. | | | | urban living was beginning to change quickly |
| | | | in California. So builders in Los Angeles, |
| The trend toward revitalizing downtown areas | | | | Burbank, and Long Beach began to rethink the |
| isn't new. Witness the rebirth of such | | | | concept of urban residential living and went |
| downtowns as Detroit, Michigan, or Portland, | | | | to work to fill the growing demand for |
| Oregon. But Californians seemed to buck that | | | | livable spaces closer to downtown areas. In |
| trend, continuing to move farther and farther | | | | 2005, the boom really took off, including a |
| from their jobs and commuting on congested, | | | | 325 percent increase in new attached housing |
| pollution-spewing freeways for hours on end. | | | | units in various Southern California downtown |
| But that may be coming to an end, because the | | | | areas in just one year. |
| Golden State seems to be experiencing the | | | | |
| rebirth of many of its downtown areas, as | | | | Numbers like that were bound to attract more |
| well. | | | | builders to cash in on the trend. That was |
| | | | the case in places like Inglewood, where the |
| Such areas as Hollywood, South Bay, and San | | | | urban building boom is now in full swing, |
| Fernando are seeing building booms in their | | | | driven by people who no longer want to fight |
| downtown areas, and even downtown Los | | | | California's world-famous traffic--especially |
| Angeles, the automobile capital of the world, | | | | people who work at Los Angeles Airport (LAX). |
| has begun to emerge from the ashes of neglect | | | | |
| and apathy. The boom is being drive by high | | | | So it appears that California is being forced |
| gasoline prices and less willingness on the | | | | to join the rest of the nation in |
| part of people to commute long distances in | | | | revitalizing its downtown areas, which will |
| heavy traffic. | | | | be a boon to everyone involved--including |
| | | | Planet Earth, which will see less pollution |
| In Los Angeles, the area around CBS | | | | as Californians take to the highway in fewer |
| Television City is growing by leaps and | | | | and fewer numbers. |
| bounds, including a new upscale mall and | | | | |
| several nicely designed multifamily | | | | Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. |
| structures that fit in well with the | | | | |