The city of Los Angeles has developed in a distinctive pattern throughout most of the the twentieth-century, namely that of the suburban sprawl molded by the expansion of the highways and expressways; nevertheless, this pattern has also been showing clear signs of being challenged in recent years, especially in light of the incentives for the Metro network by the city as well as habit changes caised by the exhaustion of the single-family home model.

Upzoning is seen by many as a solution to the issues encountered in this new phase of city developement, as lots and sites previously zoned for the single family home are allowed to have larger occupancies, meaning that the upzoned areas are pushed to densify-apartments, townhouses and other more collective living arrangements are then found in those areas.

An interesting pattern has since then appeared in the city, on of the main public transportation arteries, most often the more recent Metro lines, leading to the upzoning of its surroundings, particularly around stations. A great example of a neighborhood presenting these new patterns of development is West Los Angeles, which was largely impacted by the recent opening of the Metro Expo Line, and is the starting point of this analysis on the relationship between upzoning and public transportation expansion in the city of Los Angeles.

The result of this analysis is an is an isometric drawings of the aforementioned neighborhood, it is a blend of the real and the fictional, the historic patterns of settlement and contemporary tendencies in housing and development, it’s an impartial study, but also suggestive of change. All in all, its an an analysis of the American city.