From Chicago to L.A. critically examines some of the major precepts of what some refer to as the `Los Angeles School' of urban theory. The contributors to this book break new ground in defining an alternative agenda for urban studies. Just as the Chicago School emerged at a time when that city was reaching new national prominence, Los Angeles is now making its impression on the minds of urban theorists across the world.
The basic harmony of this book derives from its focus on a single place, even though many of the contributors extend their geographic range beyond the city of Los Angeles to the Southern California region as a whole.
From Chicago to L.A. is the final part of a trilogy that has attempted to shift the axis in urban thought away from the Chicago School, and toward an LA School. The previous two books edited by Michael Dear and published by SAGE are: Rethinking Los Angeles (1996) and Urban Latino Cultures (1999).