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Daisy Garcia
Philosophy 10/Professor Tan
April 30, 2013
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is pictured to be an area with nice big homes, wealthy people, and
great looking neighborhoods. Los Angeles has been divided into two sections, one side
including all the wealthy neighborhoods such as Brentwood, Bel-Air, Westwood, and the
Pacific Palisades and the second side would be the downtown area and on. People
expect all of Los Angeles to look like the neighborhoods of Brentwood, Pacific
Palisades, etc. because these are the areas that are shown in movies, and the media a
lot of the time makes people believe that all of Los Angeles is a wealthy city where
mainly wealthy people live. The neighborhood that best represents Los Angles would
be the downtown area because it is diverse, there are people of all socioeconomic
backgrounds, and it reflects the fast paced lifestyle that Angelinos live on an everyday
basis. The Brentwood neighborhood represents a lifestyle that is only lived by a small
percent of people who live in Los Angeles. In Brentwood, the homes are clean, large,
and perfectly built with green front yards, they have perfect roads, no advertisements,
no fast food restaurants, and they have gated homes. On the other hand, there is the
Downtown neighborhood with hundreds or even thousands of advertisements, hundreds
of fast food restaurants, uneven roads, small homes, shelters, and low income civilians.
The people who live in the Brentwood neighborhood, do not allow people to go
into their neighborhoods to build industrial or commercial companies, while in the
Downtown area people from all over build businesses in that neighborhood. In 1999,
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Steven Speilberg bought property in the neighborhood of Brentwood to build a horse
riding ring for his wife, which would be about fifty four feet high. When the neighbors
found out, they did not allow this, They retained lawyer Murdock to fight the plans out of
fear that the project could lower their property values, harm the environment, and
increase noise and traffic in the area.
1
The people in the Brentwood neighborhood
have enough power to keep certain things that they do not agree with out of their
neighborhood. They want their neighborhood to keep being clean and quiet, so they
went out of their way to prevent Steven Speilberg from building a riding ring. Those in
Brentwood can afford to keep their neighborhood calm and free of commercials and
businesses, while those in the Downtown community have no say in what can be put in
their neighborhood. In 2004, entrepreneurs announced that they would be building a $1
billion entertainment and residential district around the Staples Center for Los Angeles.
2

This project was announced to the public and whether the public liked it or not, this
district was built. This district brought more businesses and advertisements into the
downtown neighborhood, making it busier and louder. Those who lived in the area
could either deal with all the loudness and busyness or just move out of the
neighborhood if they did not like it. The problem is that many Angelinos cannot afford to
move into neighborhoods like Brentwood, therefore they are stuck dealing with all the
effects of commercial projects.DS In the Brentwood area, people are able to say what
gets put into their neighborhood, while in the Downtown area, people have to deal with
whatever is built and destroyed.

1
Claudia Eller, James Bates, Spielberg Revamps Riding Ring; Development: In response to neighbors' protests,
director scales back his plan to build an elaborate equestrian center in Brentwood, Los Angeles Times,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/421650384?accountid=12597 Aug. 1, 2001 (accessed Feb. 15, 2013).
2
Rick Orlov, Developers have big dream for downtown Los Angeles project, Knight Rider Tribune Business News,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/463976870?accountid=12597 Jul. 4, 2004(accessed Feb. 15, 2013).
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The Downtown neighborhood is open to all. Anyone who wishes can step into
this neighborhood, whether it be to visit family or take a quick jog around the area. In
Brentwood, its residents do not like the idea of outsiders stepping into their
neighborhood. They do not like strangers stepping into their neighborhoods because
they want to be safe. In 1995, the residents of a small community in Brentwood located
near the Canyonback Road wanted to create a gated neighborhood so that others
would no longer be able to pass by their homes to reach Canyonback to hike, jog, walk
their dogs, etc.
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Although state officials did not allow this to take place, those in
Brentwood desire a neighborhood that is quiet, calm, and clean without outsiders.
Brentwood residents do not enjoy others being in their neighborhood because they want
to feel safe, that is why they like to keep their neighborhood separated from the rest of
Los Angeles. The Downtown neighborhood is the complete opposite, residents for the
most part have no issues with outsiders and they do not ask to keep others away.
The Brentwood community is made up of 80% white, 9% Asian-American, 6%
Hispanic or Latino, and 1% Black, with a median household income of $112, 927 and
70% of its residents having a college degree.
4
The residents of the Brentwood
community are all wealthy and well educated. On the other hand, the residents of the
Downtown neighborhood are not all college educated and wealthy. Many of the
residents of the Downtown community fall into poverty, During the 1990s, downtown
Los Angeles and the Long Beach port area saw many poor neighborhoods worsen and

3
Martha Groves, Los Angeles; Gates Would Cut Off Public Access; Bicyclists, runners and others say a Brentwood
neighborhood's plan would deny them entry to mountain parkland. Residents want security, Los Angeles Times,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/422081761?accountid=12597 Jul. 29, 2004(accessed Feb. 15, 2013).
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brentwood,_Los_Angeles#Neighborhoods Modified Feb. 9, 2013(accessed Feb. 15,
2013).
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become very poor neighborhoods -- areas where the poverty rate exceeded 40%.
5
In
1970 the regions poverty was at 20% and by 2000 poverty was at 57%.
6
All the
residents of the Brentwood community are wealthy and are able to live a more than
comfortable lifestyle. In the neighborhood of Downtown, more than half of the residents
now live in poverty. While everyone believes that people in Los Angeles live a lavish
lifestyle like those in Brentwood, a majority of Angelinos are actually living in poverty.
The Downtown neighborhood is the best representative of Los Angeles. It is
made up of the everyday people and people from all types of socioeconomic
backgrounds. It is clear that the Brentwood neighborhood is made up of a certain group
of people with the majority of its residents being white (80%), 70% of them having
college degrees and the median household income being $112,927, while on the other
side of Los Angeles in the Downtown neighborhood, about 57% of its residents today
are living in poverty. The Brentwood neighborhood is like a dream that will never come
true for most because its residents make it the exact way they want, it is made up of
perfect homes and residents with great careers that not everyone will get to have in
their life, and only a small amount of people will get to live that dream. A dream that will
never come true for most is that of living a lavish lifestyle with everything around them
going the way they want it to be. Therefore, the Brentwood neighborhood is only for the
few who can afford to live a lavish lifestyle with everything around them going the way
they want it to be. The Downtown neighborhood is best representative of Los Angeles
because it is a neighborhood that allows outsiders to step in whether it be to visit family

5
Monte Morin, Los Angeles; County's Poor Areas Tripled, Study Finds; Inner-city ring of poverty intensifies, but
the problem also has spread to neighborhoods in the suburban areas, Los Angeles Times,
http://search.proquest.com/docview/421887525?accountid=12597 Dec. 2, 2003(accessed Feb. 15, 2013).
6
IBID.
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or have a quick jog, it allows outsiders to go in and start their businesses without any
problems, and is an area where all types of people are able to live in not only a certain
group. Therefore, the Downtown neighborhood best represents most of Los Angeles
because it contains a lifestyles lived my by most Angelinos, and not one that only a
small percentage of people actually get to live. If the media did not portray Los Angeles
through areas like the Brentwood neighborhood, then people would not have the
perception that all of Los Angeles is made up of wealthy white folks with a college
education who live in enormous homes that are perfect.











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Deductive Rules of Inference
1. Categorical Syllogism- All of those who live in Brentwood can afford to keep
things that they do not like out of their neighborhood. The horse riding ring that
Steven Speilberg wanted to build in that neighborhood was something that they
did not like. Therefore, they were able to afford a lawyer to keep the riding ring
out of their neighborhood.
2. Disjunctive Syllogism- The entertainment district built around the Staples Center
caused the downtown area to be noisier and busier. Angelinos could move out
of the neighborhood if they did not like the busyness and loudness or they could
stay and deal with it. Most Angelinos cannot afford to move into better
neighborhoods that do not have these problems. Therefore, the people that live
in that neighborhood have to deal with the loud and busy environment.
3. Modus Tollens- The people who live in Brentwood enjoy having a quiet
neighborhood that only those who live in that neighborhood can enjoy, so in 1995
those who live near the Canyonback road decided that they wanted to create a
gated community so outsiders would not be able to go. Officials did not allow
they gated community because it is an area that should be open to the public.
Therefore, those in the Brentwood neighborhood were not able to keep those
that did not live in their neighborhood out.









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Work Cited
1. Eller, C., & Bates, J. (2001, Aug 01). Spielberg revamps riding ring; development: In response to
neighbors' protests, director scales back his plan to build an elaborate equestrian center in
brentwood. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/421650384?accountid=12597.
2. Groves, M. (2004, Jul 29). Los angeles; gates would cut off public access; bicyclists, runners and
others say a brentwood neighborhood's plan would deny them entry to mountain
parkland. residents want security. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/422081761?accountid=12597.
3. Morin, M. (2003, Dec 02). Los angeles; county's poor areas tripled, study finds; inner-city ring of
poverty intensifies, but the problem also has spread to neighborhoods in the suburban
areas. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/421887525?accountid=12597
4. Orlov, R. (2004, Jul 14). Developers have big dream for downtown los angeles project. Knight
Ridder Tribune Business News. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/463976870?accountid=12597.
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brentwood,_Los_Angeles#Neighborhoods