Can Valley Survive Without L.A.?

The San Fernando Valley’s quest for political independence from Los Angeles and possible secessionist movements by San Pedro, Westchester, Playa Del Rey and Eagle Rock have reignited the debate on the relevance of downtown Los Angeles as the focal point of economic and civic activities in the metropolitan region.

Secessionists argue that central cities like Los Angeles have outlived their importance as an efficient unit of government. That battle cry has been bolstered by technological innovation. The revolution in information processing and telecommunications has accelerated the growth and dispersion of economic activities and population to a point whereby traditional face-to-face relations have become passe. While proponents concede that dense concentration of economic activities in central business districts is still needed, they also contend that suburbs now can perform the functions central cities once did. These changes have led many suburbanites to conclude that their economic welfare is not linked to the well-being of central city residents and Los Angeles city government.

If City Hall has outlived its usefulness, as alleged, will disintegration of the city into multiple jurisdictions alleviate the fiscal crisis and social problems confronting Los Angeles? Definitely not. Although global technology has minimized the imperatives of face-to-face relations in business transactions, electronic contacts cannot be random or accidental in the same way as meetings at downtown offices, restaurants, stores and churches or on the street. Nor can electronic meetings convey the same completeness of meaning as face-to-face contacts.

Despite the fact that technological innovations have decentralized employment opportunities throughout Los Angeles County, the stereotyped image of a remote and insensitive L.A. city surrounded by independent suburban communities is an illusion. This ignores the dynamic city-suburb interdependence that has proved critical for the economic rebirth of the L.A. metropolitan region. Today, three out of four residents in the county of Los Angeles work outside their municipal boundaries. The growth and sustainability of most suburban communities, including the San Fernando Valley, depend on the economic vitality of L.A.’s central business district. Downtown still commands the highest-paying jobs. According to census records from 1992, suburban communities in Los Angeles generate income of approximately $17 billion annually from downtown Los Angeles. And growth in suburbs and edge cities have stimulated downtown business districts by providing investment and a skilled labor force. The central theory underlying the city-suburban interdependence hypothesis is that central cities have unique economies that benefit the entire region. Nowhere is this more evident than in Los Angeles, location of the nation’s leading Pacific Rim gateways. For the past two decades, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have remained as the nation’s top two container ports; combined, they are the world’s third-largest. Los Angeles International Airport is the nation’s second busiest and the world’s third busiest air-cargo facility.

Conventional wisdom holds that trade flows are driven by international trade agreements and currency markets, national trade and fiscal policies, and corporate sourcing decisions rather than local policies. Yet local policymakers have considerable leverage over trade flows that extends beyond California’s strategic Pacific Rim location, the size of its domestic market and the state’s efforts.

The disintegration of Los Angeles into multiple jurisdictions would potentially derail or delay accomplishment of most trade-related projects and cripple the competitive strength of the city in the global economy, as municipalities adopt conflicting land use policies to meet their disparate and narrow economic interests. Dissolution will not solve the region’s common environmental problems, pollution, crime, traffic jams and water shortages, which are no respecters of jurisdictional boundaries.

The current wave of secessionist movements reminds me of a famous African proverb: When elephants fight in the jungle, they destroy the grass that provides food for their own survival.