Blogging Social Difference in L.A.: Week 9

After searching through several LA Times articles, I finally found one that interested me: "Archstone buys apartment complexes in Venice and Marina Del Rey" by Roger Vincent. Admittedly, my initial attraction to this article's title was the location, because I've always been fascinated by Venice, although I have not been there many times, nor do I know a great deal of information about the area. I figured this was all the more reason to incorporate this article into my post, and follow up by visiting Venice. Prior to my short journey to Venice, though, I conducted some preliminary research on the demographics and found that, according to Movoto (which gets data from the Census and the FBI Crime Database), the population of Venice consists of 71% white, 12% 'others', 7% African American, 5% 'mixed races', 4% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1% Indian. I also found that the majority age ranges from 25 to 39 years old, most people are well educated and employed, and there are primarily one person households. Marina Del Rey is an equally affluent seaside city southeast of Venice. The unincorporated suburban community has similar demographics to that of Venice. For the purpose of this post, I will only be focusing on Venice.

Historically, Venice has been a great attraction to all, as it provides amusement to the public with its eccentric people, beautiful beaches, canals, and most importantly, its two-mile long promenade featuring performers, fortune-tellers, artists, and vendors. One important geographical aspect shared by Venice and Marina del Rey is their locations in relation to nature. In Southern California, seaside communities are generally more affluent areas. Beach cities are residence to high-income households in addition to popular tourist locations. Venice is an example of how socioeconomic development can be influenced by geographical location. The desirability of the seaside location has impacted the social differences within the community, in that the two extremes--the upperclass and homeless people live in very close proximity of one another. The upperclass can afford the beachfront properties, while the homeless also desire this beautiful location, yet they sleep on the streets. The value and real estate potential of the location is evident in Archstone's high purchasing price of the two properties; over $100 million in total. Archstone, "which operates upscale apartments in coastal markets, bought the Frank, a 70-unit complex on Rose Avenue in Venice, for $56.2 million" (Vincent). In class, we discussed nature as aesthetic value, in relation to the symbolism of wealth and status. Clearly, the beaches are beautiful, and living in such an area symbolizes one's wealth. 

While visiting Venice Beach, I noticed the gap in social differences in both residents and homes. As stated previously, upperclass and homeless reside in the same space. When I went to the Frank, renamed Archstone Venice, located at 512 Rose Avenue, I noticed that there is a clear divide between this new complex and its immediate surroundings. The Archstone Venice is an upscale place that "integrates sustainable living with community and culture, connecting people to place" according to Caroline Boneham, a blogger and interior designer, who's blog, Natural Beauty, can be found here. It's wonderful that this new complex is working towards sustainable living, while integrating people in the area because I realized that the houses surrounding the block where Archstone Venice is located seem to be less up-to-date, for lack of a better term. The new complex boasts an onsite food production, which I saw while observing the area: Cafe Gratitude. 

The complex also shares its space with other little shops:

This brings the community together in a way that integrates all kinds of people, including those who can afford to live in the upscale complex, as well as those who live in the surrounding houses. I found it interesting that the Archstone Venice incorporates 'green living' with the community, bringing nature to the area:

Overall, it seems that this new complex is working to better the community as a whole in various ways, including sustainable living, art, culture, connectedness, and the quality of life. This is bringing a new meaning the "floating signifier" of nature, wherein it was once viewed as a place far away from the centrality of a city, and now can be found all throughout a city, such as Archstone Venice. At the same time, though, they are not trying to change the area from its roots, as it also incorporates several art pieces, since art was one of the original characteristics of Venice. Instead of the idea of nature being a scarce resource, the Archstone Venice invites the larger community to come enjoy its piece of happiness in green living.