Poll Finds Fragmented Sense of Civic Identity

The old remark about Los Angeles being a myriad of suburbs in search of a city is usually used to illustrate the city’s seeming lack of cohesion and the stunted sense of civic identity among areas as diverse as Sherman Oaks and Pacoima, Canoga Park and Sunland.

That lack of a strong single civic identity, such as is enjoyed and celebrated in San Francisco or Chicago, shows up in how Los Angeles residents think of themselves.

The Times Poll found that only one in five people living in the part of the San Fernando Valley within the city of Los Angeles think of themselves as residents of the city, suggesting that the geographic separation of the Valley from the rest of the city has psychological parallels. In contrast, 67% of Burbank residents think of themselves as residents of that city.

Half of those in the Los Angeles city portion of the Valley think of themselves as Valley residents, even though the rest of the city has often characterized the area as a place that is less worldly, less sophisticated and less interesting.

Fewer than a third, only 28%, said they think of themselves as residents of the communities within Los Angeles, such as Van Nuys or Chatsworth.

A breakdown of the poll results shows that those who are older, better educated and living in majority Anglo communities are more likely than others to think of themselves as Angelenos. Liberals and newcomers also are more likely to identify themselves that way, although for no group is that percentage higher than about one-third.

Poll respondent Randy Lofficier, who said she moved reluctantly to Reseda eight years ago to be able to buy a house, said she still thinks of herself as an Angeleno.

“I was born in Philadelphia, and I’m used to a more East Coast city concept,” she said. “The thing I like about Los Angeles in general is a sense of it being an international city, with a lot of different cultures.”

Pacoima resident Andrea Clark also thinks of herself as an Angeleno because of the city’s diversity.

“I like being identified with so many things that people associate with Los Angeles, such as the different cultures that are here,” she said.

On the other hand, she said, the “Valley is just plain suburbia.”

Those least likely to think of themselves as city dwellers are Jewish and Latino residents, the young, and those living in neighborhoods where non-Anglos are in the majority.