Curved Pendrive Photos in Downtown Los Angeles

In the United States, many things are bigger and more noticeable than they are here. This does not only apply to soft drinks, cars and plastic copies Daily things – Problems such as social inequality seem more and more distorted than in the Netherlands. This is painful to see in the fast-growing downtown of Los Angeles, where wealthy tech entrepreneurs share a walk with people living in poverty at the DOS tent.

Dutch photographer Desire van Hoek has been working in Los Angeles since 2007, where he photographed streets, buildings and citizens. In 2015 he published the book Sliding sequence There he photographed more than 15,000 homeless (and formerly homeless) clothing, belongings and makeshift dormitories in LA’s Skid Row neighborhood.

In the book Notes on Downtown He describes the rapid changes that have taken place in the historic Downtown LA in recent years: countless new bars and restaurants have opened, and museums have opened, new condominiums and skyscrapers have sprung up everywhere. In 2018, downtown was “the fastest growing neighborhood in the United States.” Meanwhile, the number of homeless people is steadily rising, despite the city council criminalizing activities such as “crossing the road without a doubt” or “sitting on the sidewalk near the school”.

Notes on Downtown It’s about the changes taking place in the city of Los Angeles, but also about the gentrification as a global phenomenon. Van Hoek apparently sees similarities between conditions in LA and other major cities. Seeing what is going on around itself is reminiscent of what Amsterdam settlers were already warned about in the 1980s: the disintegration of the city center, the rise of rich urbanites and rising rents, and thus the displacement of poor people, sterile and all dead. Is coming.

For the book, he interviewed urban sociologist Sharon Jookin, who did extensive research on developments in New York, but spent six months in Amsterdam ten years ago. Jukin expresses his astonishment at the important role played by the Amsterdam Municipality in the genocide of the city of Javastrat in the east of Amsterdam. In this way, Turkish supermarkets and telephone shops were slowly but surely replaced by shops that could buy lounge and mugs with hip bars and dried flowers. “Initially, these new businesses operate in conjunction with the original stores, but after a while the new points hit; they redefine the environment to suit their own needs and interests.

Van Gogh photographed empty shops, asphalt cracks, tent camps on the sidewalk, expensive cars and shiny skyscrapers still under construction. Of all the people who come into the picture, none seem to be relaxed or comfortable. They stand, walk or sit and sleep between the tight arms of a bench, their cheeks resting on their chests and their backs bent. A few are curled up in a cardboard box, or stretched over asphalt. Public space seems utterly hostile to anyone who can not afford a taxi or private car – there is a clear line between winners and losers. Urban geographer Cody Hochstenbach, interviewed by Van Hoek, reminds us that the design of public space plays a key role in the process of colonization. This is not just the case in a car-based city like LA: According to Hochstenbach, individuals who make decisions about the layout and development of a city do not always pay attention to the needs of low-income groups. Around the world, city governments and Urban developers They have to ask themselves: how to create a public space that is welcoming to all?