West San Gabriel: A Region of Contradictions

This film was the product of a research project that studied and analyzed processes and expressions of power in urban form and design in the Los Angeles built environment. Focusing on topics of identity and differentiation that are expressed in spatial interventions across history, this film surveys historic and contemporary cultural conflicts in the West San Gabriel area that emerged from private developments and regulatory processes, many of which result, intentionally or unintentionally in patterns of social exclusion. The goal of the project was to foster an understanding of urban ethics and political awareness that can be applied to any place, leading to a broader understanding of the dimensions of the cultural ecology of a place over time.