Shades of duality: Perceptions and images of downtown workers in Los Angeles

This paper takes a close look at the representations of social, economic, a nd physical polarization in global cities. After reviewing the relevant lit erature, we turn to an empirical study of downtown workers in Los Angeles t o examine if polarization is reflected in their patterns of use and movemen t and their images and perceptions of downtown space. We report the results of a survey with three groups of downtown workers (corporate workers, stre et vendors, and merchants along an "ethnic" downtown street). The survey in vestigates the images, meanings, and everyday practices of these distinct w orker cultures within the downtown space. Our survey debunks the images of a homogeneous or a dichotomous downtown, but finds instead a more complex p attern of differentiation among worker groups, identified not only in econo mic or social, but also in spatial, psychological, and perceptual terms.