Think a 1971 book about Los Angeles isn’t relevant today? Think again. Reyner Banham’s Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies dives into how the city is constructed and how its architectural signatures shape how the people live within LA.

What’s It About?

Written by architectural critic Reyner Banham, the book separates the city into four distinct categories, each with their own arrangement with the people of the city. The four ecologies are Surfurbia, Foothills, Plains of Id, and Autopia.

Surfurbia consists of the beachside communities where surf and leisure guide the culture and structures. The Foothills are the hillside communities that adapt to the terrain and wildlife (or change it altogether). The Plains of Id is central Los Angeles where all the action is—whether work or play—and space is at a premium. 

And finally, of course, Autopia. This refers to what else but the city’s freeway system; at the time seen as a marvel of engineering. Today, that marvel is understood to have come at a price. Those freeways slice through the city separating neighborhoods and their people. 

Why Did I Read It? 

Some appreciate Four Ecologies as fans of architecture and others as Los Angeles historians. But for me, it was an impulse buy. 

One morning, I was walking around my neighborhood and stopped by Stories bookstore on Sunset Boulevard. I wandered around for a bit, picked up this book, and flipped through a few pages. That’s when I came across a picture of the Pioneer block of Echo Park Avenue in its glory days. Pioneer Chicken, Pioneer Pizza, and Pioneer Liquor are clearly visible while the other Pioneer businesses like the laundry are tucked behind them. 

Just off the view of the camera, Pioneer Supermarket anchored the corner of Sunset and Echo Park. I still remember walking into the grocery store with my mom and playing Street Fighter or The Simpsons arcade games at the entrance while my mom shopped. 

By the time I moved into Echo Park in the 90s, only Pioneer Chicken and Pioneer Supermarket remained of the Pioneer block. Both are gone now. Lassens and CVS split the space where Pioneer Market stood. The community-store feel is long gone.

Is Four Ecologies For You? 

If you enjoy wandering through Los Angeles in appreciation of the architecture that made it unique and the structures that are either crumbling or forgotten, this is the right book for you. It will give you a glimpse of the past and show how that past shaped the Los Angeles of today. 

If you’d like to read the book for yourself, tap the button below and grab your copy: