Notes on downtown: Los Angeles 2007-2022

Abstract

Downtown Los Angeles has undergone a spectacular transformation over the last decade. The historic city center was given a face-lift, with new museums, skyscrapers, designer stores, restaurants and bars. In 2018, DTLA was the most rapidly gentrifying area in the US, putting pressure on many of its long-standing residents and businesses. The photographer Désirée van Hoek, who had been working in the area since 2007, has recorded the changes in the district in over 200 images. The book contains interviews with the international experts Adrienne Brown, Cody Hochstenbach, Norman M. Klein, Saskia Sassen, Jennifer Wolch and Sharon Zukin, as well as an essay by the architect and urban planner Hans Teerds.