Graduation Year
2015
Date of Submission
4-2015
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Environmental Analysis
Reader 1
Char Miller
Reader 2
George Gorse
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2015 Spencer J. Fried
Abstract
Transportation is a discussion of the utmost concern in Los Angeles. The automobile poses great detriment to the environment, people’s economic stability, and the health and safety of the community. A conversation that has, however, been absent from the discussion on transportation is the particular cultural and historical significance and value of the automobile to Los Angeles; it has been seldom discussed that the automobile has been extremely influential to the physical character of the city deems it an object worth preserving. Unlike the literature that exists, this thesis specifies and details ways in which the automobile has influenced and continues to influence the urban context and architecture of Los Angeles. Simultaneously, this thesis discusses the means by which the automobile can be preserved and repurposed into an object contributory to the city’s plans for a sustainable future. By the reevaluation and reinterpretation of the car and car culture, the city would be in effect capable of reclaiming its title as the model future city, a title it achieved and also eventually lost during the 20th century in large part because of the automobile. This thesis further contributes to the greater comprehension of the context of Los Angeles and revives a conversation about the city’s potential to be a precedent for other cities.
Recommended Citation
Fried, Spencer J., "Pursuing the Preservation of Place: The Automobile’s Significance to Los Angeles’ Physical Character and the Opportunity for its Continued Existence" (2015). CMC Senior Theses. 1152.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1152
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
