Urban Planning professor Michael Storper of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs addresses the economic and cultural differences between California’s biggest urban centers in his new book, “The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies: Lessons From San Francisco and Los Angeles” (Stanford University Press, 2015).
In a forensic writing style, Storper unpacks the mystery of the two cities — namely, why the Bay Area continues to significantly outpace Los Angeles in average household income and wages. In 1970, L.A. was ranked No. 4 in the country in terms of income levels, and now is ranked No. 25, while the Bay Area has remained No. 1. Storper’s book analyzes the economic development policies of the regions since 1970, the attitudes and actions of regional leadership and the networks of leaders and how these factors contributed to the Bay Area’s outpacing of L.A.
