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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Naming L.A.: Ethnic Diversity and the Politics of Urban Development Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1z2256zw Author Sheth, Anup Arvind Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Naming L.A.: Ethnic Diversity and the Politics of Urban Development A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology by Anup Arvind Sheth 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Naming L.A.: Ethnic Diversity and the Politics of Urban Development by Anup Arvind Sheth Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Jack Katz, Chair My dissertation explains why local governments in Los Angeles have given certain neighborhoods ethnic place names which are publicly manifested in street and freeways signs. Over the past decade in Los Angeles, as in many cities across the United States, ethnic activists and businesses have lobbied local governments for official designations that publicly acknowledge their presence in a neighborhood. Yet ethnic place names have been adopted predominantly in neighborhoods where Latinos represent a majority. Street and freeway signs throughout the city promote the public identity of places such as Thai Town, Little Ethiopia, and Little Armenia, neighborhoods in which the ‘official’ immigrant community is in the minority. ii Employing comparative historical and ethnographic methods, I find that demographic changes initiated by immigration reform and the social movements of the 1960’s have established a new ‘collective act’ responsible for shaping the public identity of ethnic spaces in Los Angeles. With new immigrant populations arriving to Los Angeles and the increasing demands by community-based organizations for ethnic place names, local politicians have come to support these requests as an opportunity to appeal to ethnic constituencies. Unlike the Chicago School’s ecological model, which deemphasizes politics, and the growth machine framework, which prioritizes the interests of the business elite, the public recognition of urban areas can best be explained by the role of local politicians engaged in symbolic politics during a historical period when demographic changes are transforming American cities and university-trained activists are making demands for a place name as a means of enhancing their political authority. I examine every successful and unsuccessful case of ethnic place naming in Los Angeles. Local governments in L.A. County have publically recognized 12 ethnic places while rejecting five. For each case, I interview local politicians and their aides, ethnic entrepreneurs, and ethnic activists involved in ethnic place naming. I also draw on newspaper articles, Internet resources such as YouTube, and official government documents kept with the City and State archives. I also use voting data and Census information to construct voter turnout rates in East Hollywood – the geographic center for ethnic place naming in Los Angeles. This study makes two significant contributions to the study of urban social life. First, L.A.’s new ethnic archipelago shows how sociological theories of urban change no longer provide a full account of changes to the twenty-first century city. Existing theories of urban change were developed during earlier periods in the development of the city, and in part, reflect social processes that were dominant during those eras. Rather than relying on earlier theories to iii explain contemporary social phenomena, urban sociologists should identify new social processes responsible for urban change. Second, L.A.’s new ethnic archipelago exposes a problem with the residence-based voting system in the central city. With highly mobile populations that live in one area of the city but work in other areas and a decline in voter turnout, non-residential – or ‘use populations’ – have emerged as significant interest groups in the central city. Given that use populations do not have an official mechanism to shape policy, this dissertation argues that ethnic place naming is a critical means by which they gain local control over an urban area. This problem may only be rectified by giving use populations official decision-making authority in the neighborhood council system. iv The dissertation of Anup Arvind Sheth is approved. Lorrie Frasure-Yokley Edward Walker Andreas Wimmer Jack Katz, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 1: Ethnic Places and Theories of Urban Change…………………………………..18 Chapter 2: The Social and Political Transformation of East Hollywood…………………...39 Chapter 3: The New Ethnic Archipelago of Los Angeles, 1999 – 2010…………………....74 Chapter 4: Politics and Ethnic Conflict in the City…………………………………………112 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….147 Appendix A.………………………………………………………………………………...154 Appendix B.………………………………………………………………………………...156 References…………………………………………………………………………………..158 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Geographic Distribution of Official Ethnic Places in the L.A. Region………………14 Figure 2. Cumulative Number of Requests for Public Recognition……………………………15 Figure 3. The Symbolic Representative of Thai Town…………………………………………111 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Positive and Negative Cases…………………………………………………………...16 Table 2. Positive Cases by Date of Public Recognition…………………………………………17 Table 3. Average Voter Turnout for Selected Council Elections in the Hills and Flats during the 1930’s, 1970’s and 2000’s: Expressed as a Percentage of the Voting Age Population (VAP)………………………………...………………...63 Table 4. Voter Turnout as a Percentage of Voting Age Population: For Selected Council Elections in the Hills and the Flats during the 1930’s……..………………….63 Table 5. Voter Turnout as a Percentage of Voting Age Population: For Selected Council Elections in the Hills and the Flats during the 1970’s…………………….......64 Table 6. Voter Turnout as a Percentage of Voting Age Population: For Selected Council Elections in the Hills and the Flats during the 2000’s………………64 Table 7. Historic and Contemporary Demographic Data for Voting Areas: 1940, 1970, and 2000 Census Data for Flats and Hills……………………………………….65 Table 8. Average Voter Turnout for Selected Council Elections in the Hills and the Flats during the 1930’s and 2000’s: Expressed as a Percentage of the Citizen-Voting Age Population (Citizen-VAP)……………...……………………..67 Table 9. Average Voter Turnout for the Hills and the East and South Hollywood Flats during the 2000’s: Expressed as a Percentage of the Citizen-Voting Age Population (Citizen-VAP)……………………………………………….………...68 Table 10. Historical and Contemporary Demographic Data for Voting Areas: 2000 Census Data for the Hills and the East and South Hollywood Flats (Expressed as Percentages, Unless Otherwise Noted)……………..….........................68 viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Every dissertation is the product of collective activity. I am greatly indebted to the faculty, graduate students, and various institutions and programs at UCLA. The Department of Sociology has been supportive and stimulating academic environment. The Department of Sociology graciously awarded me three academic years of fellowship that provided much needed support to research and write my dissertation. In my final year, UCLA Graduate Division awarded me a Dissertation Year Fellowship, which was invaluable in helping me complete this project. My fondest memories at UCLA Sociology were spent sharing my research with fellow graduate students. In particular, I am thankful for the friendship and intellectual support of Brandon Berry, Christina Chin, Michael Deland, Philippe Duhart, Noriko Milman, Corey O’Malley, Isaac Speer, and Iddo Tavory. Jooyoung Lee read several chapters and various articles based on my research findings. I feel honored to know these scholars and lucky to consider them my good friends. The diverse theoretical and methodological approaches of UCLA faculty were a constant source of inspiration. I am appreciative of the advice I received from Rogers Brubaker, David Halle, and Roger Waldinger. The late Melvin Pollner shaped my formative development as a sociologist. Mel’s class on Ethnomethodology remains one of the most intellectually rewarding classes I ever took at UCLA. My dissertation committee also provided invaluable support during this process. Andreas Wimmer has been a constant source of support and encouragement. Even when I sometimes felt disenchanted with my own work, his excitement for my research always reinspired me. Ed Walker helped me carefully think through my research from a social movements perspective. ix And Laurie Frasure-Yokely always asked incisive questions, forcing me to make my arguments with greater clarity. I owe a great debt to the evolution of this dissertation and my development as a sociologist to my mentor, Jack Katz. From the introductory courses I took in qualitative research, to my Master’s research, to spending summers teaching undergraduate students in LA@Play, I have learned a great deal about urban ethnography from Jack. Specifically, I have learned how to document, analyze – and perhaps most importantly – marvel at the richness and variety of urban social life. I would also like to thank all the people involved in ethnic place naming who gave time out of their very busy schedules to speak with me. Michael Holland