Colin Marshall

For such a high-profile metropolis, Los Angeles has a curious relationship with the word “city.” Its detractors have, for the better part of a century, argued that the term doesn’t apply: witness the longevity of the quip calling Los Angeles six, twelve, nineteen, or (somehow, most often) 72 suburbs in search of a city, variously attributed to a gallery of wits including Aldous Huxley, H.L. Mencken, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and (somehow, most often) Dorothy Parker. Sometimes even its defenders say close to the same thing, agreeing that Los Angeles has nothing to do with, and thus admits no judgment by, the standards, traditions, and expectations implied by the word “city.” According to either framing, the more you think about Los Angeles in terms of a city, the less satisfactory the place feels. Any part referring explicitly to itself as city thus automatically raises alarms of suspicion.

The residentless Universal City, a 415-acre area of the suburban San Fernando Valley wholly owned by Universal Studios, bends most anyone’s definition of “city” to or beyond the breaking point. A small piece of of it lays within the boundaries of Los Angeles proper, but the rest of it — the part visitors see — has, as an unincorporated area, given rise to such attractions as the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park; before that, the actual, functioning production facilities from which that park draws its theme; and most recently Universal CityWalk, essentially a shopping mall, but one that requires some explanation. In his essay “Considering CityWalk: A Brief History of the Mall and Artificial Neighborhoods“, Oliver Wang describes it as “an amusement park concept of sorts” which grounds its fantasy “in a longing for a particular kind of real city space: dense, busy, and vibrant.” That longing comes through loud and clear in the branding: CityWalk features an upper deck called CityLoft, which itself contains a cluster of eateries called CityFood. Back on the ground level, at least one kiosk sells “City Caps.”

Read the whole thing at KCET Departures.