Hazardous metropolis : flooding and urban ecology in Los Angeles / Jared Orsi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Orsi, Jared, 1970-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Flood control--California--Los Angeles.

Flood control.

Flood control--Government policy--California--Los Angeles.

Urban ecology (Sociology)--California--Los Angeles.

Urban ecology (Sociology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 276 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Although better known for its sunny skies, Los Angeles suffers devastating flooding. This book explores a fascinating and little-known chapter in the city's history-the spectacular failures to control floods that occurred throughout the twentieth century. Despite the city's 114 debris dams, 5 flood control basins, and nearly 500 miles of paved river channels, Southern Californians have discovered that technologically engineered solutions to flooding are just as disaster-prone as natural waterways. Jared Orsi's lively history unravels the strange and often hazardous ways that engineering, politics, and nature have come together in Los Angeles to determine the flow of water. He advances a new paradigm-the urban ecosystem-for understanding the city's complex and unpredictable waterways and other issues that are sure to play a large role in future planning. As he traces the flow of water from sky to sea, Orsi brings together many disparate and intriguing pieces of the story, including local and national politics, the little-known San Gabriel Dam fiasco, the phenomenal growth of Los Angeles, and, finally, the influence of environmentalism. Orsi provocatively widens his vision toward other cities for which Los Angeles may offer a lesson-both of things gone wrong and a glimpse of how they might be improved.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Prologue. Water In Los Angeles: A Portrait Of An Urban Ecosystem

1. City Of A Thousand Rivers: The Emergence Of An Urban Ecosystem, 1884-1914

2. A Centralized Authority And A Comprehensive Plan: Response To The Floods, 1914-1917

3. A Weir To Do Man's Bidding: The Great San Gabriel Darn Fiasco, 1917-1929

4. A More Effective Scouring Agent: The New Year's Eve Debris Flood And The Collapse Of Local Flood Control, 1930-1934

5 . The Sun Is Shining Over Southern California: The Politics Of Federal Flood Control In Los Angeles, 191 5-1969

6. Necessary But Not Sufficient: Storms, Environmentalism, And New Visions For Flood Control, 1969-2001

Epilogue. The Historical Structure Of Disorder: Urban Ecology In Los Angeles And Beyond

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612357152

9781282357150

1282357158

9780520930087

0520930088

9781597346481

1597346489

OCLC:

475933556