Why do we use LACITY? Don't we have our own City Hall?
Many communities exist in the County of Los Angeles!
There two types of classifications in our County, incorporated and unincorporated areas.
Whil it sounds technical, it basically means are you a city or not? But what defines that?
Unincorporated Areas:
Unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County do not have their own local government. Instead, they fall under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The county government provides services to residents of unincorporated areas, such as law enforcement, public works, and planning and zoning regulation.
Examples of unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County include East Los Angeles, Altadena, and Universal City.
Incorporated Areas (also known as Cities):
Cities within Los Angeles County have their own local governments, including mayors, city councils, and municipal services.
Each city governs its own jurisdictional area and provides services to its residents, such as public safety, parks and recreation, and planning and zoning regulations.
Examples include Burbank, Pasadena, and Long Beach, each with its own city government and services.
Neighborhoods
In both unincorporated and incorporated areas, distinct communities can emerge, each with its own unique identity. For instance, within the City of Hawthorne lies HollyGlen, a community characterized by its distinctive traits. Similarly, the City of Torrance features neighborhoods like North Torrance.
In a large city like the City of Los Angeles, neighborhoods boast even more varied iconic characteristics, such as Koreatown, North Hollywood, and Valley Glen. What's particularly noteworthy is that, unlike HollyGlen or North Torrance, certain neighborhoods within the City of Los Angeles rival entire cities in terms of population size and tax revenue. For instance, Van Nuys boasts a population comparable to that of the entire City of Hawthorne.
A significant divergence exists: while many neighborhoods have evolved organically within their respective cities, the same cannot be said for the City of Los Angeles. A considerable portion of the neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley were once independent cities or unincorporated areas. However, when the City of Los Angeles constructed the Aqueduct, access to its water was restricted solely to Los Angeles neighborhoods.
Given the scarcity of water resources in Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles capitalized on its water supply by extending it to neighboring cities and unincorporated areas. Residents faced a choice: join the City of Los Angeles to access water resources but relinquish their former autonomy, or remain independent but face water scarcity.
It's likely why "Panorama City" despite having the word "CITY", is simply just a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles.
Technically, the day the SFV areas joined the City of Los Angeles, they were no longer "Van Nuys" or "Panorama City", they are simply the The City of Los Angeles, but the City of Los Angeles let them keep their identity by leaving the old names as Neighborhood names.
But we are all in LACOUNTY? how do I know who to call?
