LA (Los Angeles)
Overview
LA is the second-largest city in the United States, located on the Pacific coast of Southern California, and a global center of entertainment, culture, and trade. Its official name is Los Angeles, and it is widely called by the abbreviation "LA." Home to Hollywood, the capital of the film industry, it exerts enormous influence on popular culture worldwide, and the city is undergoing reorganization ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Main Content
Geography and Administration
Los Angeles spans a vast basin and coastal plain in Southern California, with a city area of about 1,300 km². It borders the Santa Monica Mountains to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, and is administratively divided into more than 80 districts. Los Angeles County has a population of about 10 million, and the greater metropolitan area (CSA) population exceeds 18 million, forming the largest metropolitan area in the United States. The city government operates under a mayor–council system, and Mayor Karen Bass, who took office in December 2022, is the first female mayor in the city's history.
History
It originated in 1781 when Spanish Governor Felipe de Neve founded the city with 44 settlers. After Mexico's independence in 1821, it became Mexican territory; it was incorporated into the United States by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and was elevated to a formal city in 1850. It grew rapidly with the opening of railroads and the discovery of oil at the end of the 19th century, and as the Hollywood film industry took root in the 1910s, it transformed into a global cultural city. During World War II, the population surged due to an aviation manufacturing boom, and the city hosted the Summer Olympics twice, in 1932 and 1984. The large-scale riots protesting the 1992 Rodney King case verdict remain a symbolic event that exposed the city's racial and economic tensions.
Population and Diversity
The city population is about 3.8–3.9 million, the second-largest in the United States after New York. Hispanic/Latino people make up the largest share at about 48%, followed by white, Asian, and Black populations. It is a hyper-diverse city where more than 200 languages are spoken, and there are neighborhoods with dense concentrations of various ethnic groups, including Koreatown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, and Little Armenia. The Korean community also forms a considerable presence and contributes to the local economy and culture.
Economy
The Los Angeles metropolitan economy ranks among the top tier of global urban economies. Entertainment industries such as film, TV, and music are representative, and tourism, international trade, aerospace, manufacturing, and logistics are core pillars. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are gateways handling the largest container throughput in the United States. Recently, the technology and startup ecosystem has been growing rapidly, centered on Silicon Beach (around Santa Monica and Culver City).
Culture and Entertainment
Hollywood is a symbol of the global film industry, and major awards ceremonies such as the Academy Awards (Oscars) and the Grammy Awards are held there. It has abundant art and performance infrastructure, including the Getty Center, LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and The Broad museum. There are also many tourist attractions, including Santa Monica Beach, Griffith Observatory, Universal Studios, and Beverly Hills.
Sports
It is one of the largest sports markets in the United States, with a dense concentration of professional sports teams: the Lakers and Clippers (NBA), Dodgers (MLB), Rams and Chargers (NFL), LAFC and Galaxy (MLS), and Sparks (WNBA). In 2024, the Dodgers won the World Series, raising the city's excitement.
Transportation and Infrastructure
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is one of the largest airports in the world, and Long Beach and Burbank airports also share the metropolitan area's aviation demand. Urban transportation developed around freeways and automobiles, but expansion of Metro subway and light rail lines is actively underway to ease congestion and prepare for the Olympics.
Recent Developments
In January 2025, large-scale wildfires (the Palisades and Eaton fires) swept through the city's outskirts and adjacent areas, causing massive loss of life and property, and housing reconstruction and insurance and climate response policies have emerged as top priorities. As the city hosting the Summer Olympics for the third time in 2028, stadium and transportation infrastructure improvements and solving the homelessness problem have emerged as key tasks. It has also been selected as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and Super Bowl LXI in 2027, raising expectations for sports and tourism booms. Meanwhile, the contraction of Hollywood production, the shift to streaming, competition over production tax incentives, housing shortages and rising living costs, and public safety issues are being cited as major issues in 2024–2025.
Related Topics
- [[California]]
- [[Hollywood]]
- [[2028 Los Angeles Olympics]]
- [[Koreatown]]