Los Angeles' Vast Wealth Fails to Prevent Growing Urban Decay
Despite a trillion-dollar regional economy and a $14 billion budget, Los Angeles is seeing deteriorating infrastructure, dark streets and rising public disorder.
Los Angeles, the United States' second-largest city and a trillion-dollar economic engine, is grappling with severe municipal failures. Copper wiring is being stripped from streetlights, causing prolonged darkness, while neglected sidewalks and aging infrastructure further degrade daily life. Public parks increasingly serve as open-air drug markets, and streets are dotted with homeless encampments.
These conditions are prompting businesses and Hollywood productions to leave, and school enrollment is on the decline. With an annual budget of nearly $14 billion and some of the world's most valuable real estate, the city’s inability to maintain basic services challenges the long-standing bargain of high taxes for opportunity, beauty and cultural prestige. Shawn Regan notes that the worsening public disorder makes that bargain appear increasingly unfavorable for families, firms and entire sectors.
Why it matters
The decline of essential services in a major economic hub threatens residents' safety and the region's broader economic health.
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