ABSTRACT
The geographic area discussed in this chapter consists of the urbanised area extending across all or part of six counties located in Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Southern California is located in the south-western tip of the continental United States and the area under consideration is the most densely populated area of the western United States. The land area contained within the six counties is around 103,200 km2, containing a population of approximately 18.25 million persons (Table 15.1), the vast majority of whom live within what may be described as the ‘Greater Los Angeles conurbation’. The distribution of the population within this geographic area is illustrated in Figure 15.1
Given the size of the Los Angeles conurbation, it is not possible to provide a detailed review of town planning, land use and associated issues within the confines of a single chapter. Therefore, this chapter provides an overview of the land use and planning framework as it currently exists in the conurbation, together with a more detailed consideration of urban regeneration issues in the City of Los Angeles, one of 88 municipal authorities of the County of Los Angeles.
