ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that "economic development" as a primary public focus coincides with broader, negative economic conditions that bring development to the forefront of the agenda. Of course, Los Angeles (LA) economic development involves a number of other tools besides projects. LA economic development efforts have closely mirrored national recessions and economic crises. The worldwide economic crisis is the most recent reminder that the US economic system trumps LA economic development. In contrast to the temporary fumbling of the sectoral targeting of "clean technology," sustainable development is becoming a reference point for LA economic development efforts. Edward Soja's Seeking Spatial Justice provides an empathetic survey of the emergence of community, environmental, labor, and immigrant-based social formations that are reshaping LA economic development. The Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building Trades Council, representing a subset of unions within LA County Federation of Labor (LACFL), is another labor organization that is critical to shaping LA economic development projects.
