Los Angeles has a long-standing reputation for sprawl, however, this perception is not true. As of the 2000 Census, the Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana urbanized area had a residential density of more than 7,000 people per square mile, covering 1,600 square miles, making it the most densely-populated such area in the US. In comparison, the New York, Newark urbanized area boasted a population density of over 5,300 people per square mile, over 3,300 square miles.
The popular misconception of L.A. as a sprawling city might originate in the area's decentralized structure. Instead of being concentrated in a single downtown area, the city's major cultural, commercial, residential, political and industrial resources are dispersed over an intricate, intra-connected network. Although the overall density of the city of Los Angeles is small compared to similar-sized American cities, the noted figure is deceiving in part because the area includes mostly uninhabited areas.
The residential density of the city area was more than 13,500 per square mile in 2000. Within its urbanized areas, L.A. is noted for small lot sizes, small vacancy rates, and general dearth of large exurban spreads. In inner areas, it is not uncommon for people to share rooms or rent rooms to strangers. However, buildings tend to be of very low height compared to other extremely large cities in part due to strict earthquake building codes which increase costs. L.A. was established as a major city just as the Pacific Railway spread the population to smaller cities. During the first decades of this century, the region was formed into a network of moderately dense but separate locales linked by rail. The ascendence of the motorcar assisted in filling the gaps between these commuter towns with smaller-density settlements.
The L.A. region continues to grow, mostly on the edges where new, less expensive, undeveloped areas are being sought. In such areas, the number of residents as well as home prices have rapidly escalated.
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