Readers React: Sorry, boosters, Los Angeles is a terrible place to live

To the editor: Columnist Steve Lopez asks, “Is Los Angeles getting better or worse?” No — it’s just worse.

Lopez can’t resist the age-old impulse to be an L.A. booster. Back when Los Angeles was building itself, negative reviews of the city were seen as unpatriotic.

But, let’s face it, today it’s a run-down city. It’s certainly not a nice-looking place, with most streets in need of repair. And sidewalks? A complete disaster.

Here east of Hollywood, once a charming place to live, flipped homes are now owned by the upwardly mobile who drive their luxury cars to work over broken and bumpy streets. They must wonder if this is the best that life can offer.

Bryn Mathieu, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: In 2007, the UCLA Anderson Forecast asked a similar question to Lopez’s, leading to a publication called “Solutions for Our City.”

I contributed two chapters to this problem-solving exercise, one on the jobs, housing and education puzzle, and the second on planning for racial diversity. Other chapters addressed traffic, transportation, affordable housing, homelessness, healthcare and more.

It seems the time is right for a 2018 version of “Solutions for Our City.”

Philip S. Hart, Los Feliz

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook