FINANCIAL TRANSFORMATION AND THE METROPOLIS - BOOMS, BUSTS, AND BANKING IN LOS-ANGELES

In this paper the implications of the two eras of financial transforma tion in the 20th century-that of the 1930s and that of the 1980s and 1 990s-for urban growth and inequality in Southern California are examin ed. It is argued that financial structures have profound effects on th e pace and distributional consequences of urban growth, in large part because urban development is characterized by widespread spatial spill over effects. The contemporary era of financial transformation has wid ened gaps between urban communities and banking customer markets. Bank ing markets that were once segmented by regulation are now segmented b y market dynamics. In consequence, a financial system which once facil itated wealth building for households and communities now deepens soci al inequality and spatial separation. In this paper the historical and contemporary experience of Los Angeles is used to both develop and il lustrate the arguments made.