Los Angeles and the Chicago School: Invitation to a Debate

Abstract

Until very recently, debates about urban structure have been dominated by the precepts of the ‘Chicago School,’ which include the notion that the city is a coherent regional system where the center organizes its hinterland. The rise of an ‘LA School’ reverses this logic, insisting that in contemporary cities the hinterlands organize what is left of the center. This essay begins to explore the divergent theoretical and empirical consequences following upon such a conceptual upheaval. By placing Chicago alongside Los Angeles, an important and long‐overdue debate on comparative urban analysis is joined.