1) what did you learn from the readings that week? and 2) what was your reaction to those readings? 250 WORDS

City of Quartz by Mike Davis Chapter 1: “Sunshine or Noir”, pp. 17-62 City of Quartz is the second required book. It is a critical investigation of Los Angeles from the mid-19th century through the end of the 20th century, with a focus on the last half of that century. The preface in the current edition, written in 2006, updates the 1990 book by examining key structural trends and social changes in early 21st century Los Angeles. These include “regional (im)mobility” which concerns transportation, the role of corporations and investors with headquarters outside of Los Angeles, the decline of manufacturing, “the new inequality”, ongoing issues of suburban development, housing affordability, and the debate over growth, and the rise of what Davis calls the new unionism and community organizers. These issues discussed in the preface, as well as the themes in the book, are not only still relevant in any analysis of Los Angeles, but also apply to other cities both in the United States and abroad. From the vantage point of 2020, another key issue in any discussion of Los Angeles and the rest of the state is the destructive role of climate change. It is in part responsible for higher than average temperatures and an ongoing drought that, combined with the failures of Pacific Gas and Electric to maintain its equipment, has led to extensive forest fires. This has resulted in loss of life and property, deterioration of the air, and rolling blackouts. The issue of climate change, of course, and its effects on urban life present an existential threat to many cities in the United States and around the world. The subtitle that Davis gave City of Quartz is “Excavating the Future in Los Angeles”, and the title of Chapter 1, “Sunshine or Noir?” summarizes the key themes in the book. Davis, using diverse sources from sociology, history, political science, literature, and the media, excavates the past layers of the city’s history to help understand what the future might hold for cities such as Los Angeles. Chapter 1 is a critical analysis of intellectual visions and interpretations of Los Angeles which looked at the city as either a place of utopian dreams with a perfect climate (e.g., “the promised land” for the Joad family and the other Oakies in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath) or a dystopia characterized by misery, squalor, oppression, disease and overcrowding. Hence, the title of Chapter 1, “Sunshine or Noir?” (meaning light or dark). On a lighter note looking at Los Angeles as a dystopia, Groucho Marx said, “If they’d lower the taxes and get rid of the smog and clean up the traffic mess, I really believe I’d settle there until the next earthquake.” What are the key themes in the different sections of Chapter 1, pp. 17-62. These are the following: “L.A. Intellectuals: An Introduction”, “The Boosters”, “The Debunkers”, “The Noirs” and “The Exiles”. Take appropriate notes as you read each section of this material in Chapter 1.