Unocal refinery complex near Los Angeles Harbor. CLUI photo

With the opening of offices in Los Angeles, representatives from The Center have been seeking out sites in this spectacular urbanized and industrialized desert. Some of the city's most striking land use features are being photographed for future projects, and for possible inclusion in the Land Use Database. Under examination are elements of the city's transportation infrastructure, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the major R&D complexes, its industrial and military zones, and the notorious water supply infrastructure that make the city's existence at all viable.

Long Beach Naval Shipyard, doomed by the latest round of base closures. CLUI photo

Several major military bases in the Los Angeles area are closing down, leaving their unusual and dramatic industrial areas to find new uses. Activities from these facilities are either being discontinued or relocated to areas which aren't experiencing pressures from encroaching civilian land uses.

Old Hughes Aircraft plant in Playa Del Ray, soon to become the site of the largest movie studio complex in Los Angeles. CLUI photo

The entertainment industry is picking up some of the slack created by a downsizing of defense industries in the city. In 1995, employment in the entertainment industry of Los Angeles finally surpassed the aerospace industry. A most literal example of how entertainment products are the new tools in America's arsenal is in Playa Del Ray, where Dreamworks SKG (Spielberg/Katzenberg/Geffen) is developing a major motion picture studio using the facilities at the old Hughes Aircraft plant.