Most people equate Los Angeles with smog, sprawl, forty suburbs in search of a city-the great "what-not-to-do" of twentieth-century city building. But there's much more to LA's story than this shallow stereotype. History shows that Los Angeles was intensely, ubiquitously planned. The consequences of that planning-the environmental history of urbanism—is one place to turn for the more complex lessons LA has to offer. Working forward from ancient times and ancient ecologies to the very recen...

This Companion contains 25 original essays by writers and scholars who present an expert assessment of the best and most important work to date on the complex history of Los Angeles.The first Companion providing a historical survey of Los Angeles, incorporating critical, multi-disciplinary themes and innovative scholarshipFeatures essays from a range of disciplines, including history, political science, cultural studies, and geographyPhot...