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William B. Fulton

The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles

by William Fulton (Author)

4.7 15 ratings

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A Los Angeles Times Bestseller"William Fulton is the Raymond Chandler of Los Angeles real estate."―Kevin Starr, California State Librarian and author of Material Dreams: Los Angeles through the 1920s

In twelve engaging essays, William Fulton chronicles the history of urban planning in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, tracing the legacy of short-sighted political and financial gains that has resulted in a vast urban region on the brink of disaster. Looking at such diverse topics as shady real estate speculations, the construction of the Los Angeles subway, the battle over the future of South Central L.A. after the 1992 riots, and the emergence of Las Vegas as "the new Los Angeles," Fulton offers a fresh perspective on the city's epic sprawl. The only way to reverse the historical trends that have made Los Angeles increasingly unliveable, Fulton concludes, is to confront the prevailing "cocoon citizenship," the mind-set that prevents the city's inhabitants and leaders from recognizing Los Angeles's patchwork of communities as a single metropolis.

ISBN-10

0801865069
ISBN-13

978-0801865060
Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date

December 4, 2001
Language

English
Dimensions

6 x 0.85 x 9 inches
Print length

424 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A surprisingly lively case study of the battles and alliances of politics, business and people that formed―or deformed―a great American city.
―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

One of the most entertaining and thought-provoking books I have read in a long time about urban growth and change . . . Important reading for anyone interested in contemporary urban development. [Fulton] tells a story that may sound uniquely Los Angeles, but really applies to every growing city in America.
―Richard Peiser, APA Journal

The Reluctant Metropolis is a welcome addition to the growing literature of place. Bill Fulton brings verve and lucidity to the politics of land use, a mega-issue ready to explode in the years ahead.
―James Howard Kunstler, author of The Geography of Nowhere and Home from Nowhere

Review

The Reluctant Metropolis is a welcome addition to the growing literature of place. Bill Fulton brings verve and lucidity to the politics of land use, a mega-issue ready to explode in the years ahead.

-- James Howard Kunstler

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Johns Hopkins University Press (December 4, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 424 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0801865069
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0801865060
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.85 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,318,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #104 in Regional Politics Planning
- #657 in Architecture (Books)
- #668 in City Planning & Urban Development

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4.7 15 ratings

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Adam Harpool

Learn urban history to avoid repeating it

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2007

Verified Purchase

Fulton is an expert on the history and political processes underlying the growth of Southern California over the last century, and he lays out how many of these same political ideologies and schools of urban thought have fundamentally malformed Los Angeles, as well as many other American cities, in The Reluctant Metropolis. Most elements pertinent to SoCal's development - the water supply, the creation of an idealized suburbia a la 1950's and its appeal to Midwesterners, the streetcars (and later veritable inundation with automobiles and freeways), and much more - all of the proccesses that created a paradox, with Los Angeles being the only top-tier, alpha-level global city that fundamentally rejects every single element of traditional "urbanity." But this is not a story unique to LA, and it is precisely because many other booming American cities risk suffering the same fate that this book is highly important reading for all interested in the future of the USA's urban centers.

3 people found this helpful

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Ashley

Southern California

Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2013

Verified Purchase

Great book on understanding the growth patterns on southern california. Lot of information. I suggest skimming becuase it is a THICK book with small print.

One person found this helpful

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John Clark

Best Book Available on LA City Planning

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2007

Read this book! It is the best book I've read on development and growth in the LA basin. It's very well-written and incorporates both political and professional planning vantage points. Describes very succinctly the interplay between water, developers, and municipal leaders over the past century. Don't believe the whiner who rated this at two stars: he's a disgruntled slow-growther who has a personal bone to pick. Fulton captures the essence of Los Angeles without necessarily endorsing or advocating a position.

2 people found this helpful

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Chuen Ng

So that's how it really is...

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2002

This book is a must read for anyone willing to expose themselves to the stories behind the stories of Los Angeles. The stories reveal the apathetic and self-centered nature of some Los Angeles citizens (who will never really admit they are from "Los Angeles"), and sets the stage for an entire change of mindset among Los Angelenos. This mindset is one that takes notice of the community, and the larger metropolis that communities make up. For a graduate city planning student as I, these stories help shape some basic values of mine regarding the nature of cities and communities. I strongly recommend this book.

12 people found this helpful

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Darwin's Brother

Mike Davis without the dictionary

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2002

William Fulton's a rockstar...he's a planner, he's a journalist, he lives in southern California, and he writes about southern California. Damn.
This book is so well written. SoCal is very politically apathetic, so it takes some gripping prose to shake us out of our coma. He tackles bickering local agencies, squabbling egos, litigious neighboring cities, backlash against the entrenched growth "machine," opposition to mixed-use developments, and Chinatown water issues.
The paperback edition has an Afterword chapter that brings us up-to-date with the subject matter. Fools whine that there's no professional football team in L.A., but can you believe that downtown's last 2 Fortune 500 corporations, Arco and Times Mirror, were eaten up by out-of-state companies in the 1990s?

4 people found this helpful

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Andre Yi

The joke in Los Angeles

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2002

The joke in Los Angeles is 'I've never been to downtown Los Angeles'. This is book that tells all about the decentralization of LA. Unlike most cities in America, Los Angeles' decentralization is a product of the explained 'growth machine'. One of the most unique cities in America and possibly one of the most depressing. I would have given this book 5 stars but i award 5 stars to inspirational books. The politics of Los Angeles makes me want to curl into a ball and shove myself into a dark corner (no worries though, it's perpetually sunny here).

7 people found this helpful

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James D. Umbach

A must-read for anyone interested in planning or politics.

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 1998

Wow! William Fulton's look at the workings of Los Angeles government takes the reader on a trip through history to help discover how Los Angeles got to be how it is today. Many different case studies explore various elements of this "Reluctant" metropolis, such as the story of one particular block downtown, the fight with Las Vegas over water rights, how the urban transportation system came to be the way it is--and why it will never change, and how a college student singlehandedly and unintentionally changed the face of Ventura County politics forever. These are just a few of the fascinating tales William Fulton spins of Los Angeles. As a member of a Southern California transit advocacy group, I found the entire book hard to put down. After reading this well-written book, the reader should be more knowledgeable about the west's largest metropolis and how many elements come together to shape a region. I hope you enjoy this book with the same enthusiasm with which I did.

7 people found this helpful

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Ventura Resident

Fulton's Folly

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2004

Bill Fulton is often lionized by planning "professionals" and students for his writing in this book but the truth is that his foray into the application reality of his theory has Ventura on the ropes. Fulton is the architect of several local no-growth initiatives such as Save Our Agricultural Resources (SOAR) as well as spearheading a housing development-blocking effort a couple of years ago for Ventura hillsides. What has since happened as any college freshman taking Econ 101 would understand, is that the supply of housing has constricted as demand increased and resulted in the skyrocketing price of local housing. Fulton did nothing after pushing these no-growth initiatives to stoke the fires of development that is required to prevent this housing supply constipation.
Fulton has now gotten himself elected to the Ventura City Council and it has become easy to see his political agenda that before has been hidden and masquerading as thoughtful intellect. This guy is no responsible academic or planning God but merely another no-growth advocate pushing a political agenda. Don't waste your time reading his stuff unless you have nothing else with which to stock your water closet area.

9 people found this helpful

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