History of urban design

¶ … urbanization of Californian suburban city Lancaster. The city does not have a very long history and therefore agricultural activities never found much place here as Lancaster was driven towards industrialization from the very beginning. The paper sheds light on the growth of this major Los Angeles city.

LANCASTER, CA

Lancaster, CA is one of the greatest success stories of Los Angeles County as it grew from non-existent area to a busy suburb in less than a century. It is amazing that a city, which is so well managed today, was granted city status only in 1977 when it was officially incorporated after significant pressure from the community. The city status gave this community the right to self-governance and thus it finally emerged out of the shadow of Los Angeles political influence. The reason why it is called a great success story is because it was discovered only in 1876 and by 1890 it had been able to amass considerable prosperity with its own schools, railroad, hotels and of course Californian Gold. Major building projects were undertaken during the economic boom of 1920s. This was the time when cost of property increased manifold and Lancaster became a major site for estate development.

The city was first discovered by South Pacific Railroad Company and was probably given its name by the workers of this firm. But little is known about the early history of this city as a major fire swallowed most important records in 1906. But that it had become quite a successful community by 1885 is evident from some old records. Mr. Savage's chronicles have this to say about Lancaster and major landmarks. "Antelope Avenue was the principal street, and beginning in the northern end, a man named Spencer ran a fruit and vegetable store and next came the general store owned by Frank Glencross. The Lancaster House occupied the corner of Tenth Street and Antelope Avenue on the north, and across the street and south was a frame warehouse and tin shop, Mr. Deveraux being the tinsmith. Scherer's general store and bar occupied the site of the present residence of Mr. McMurray, and then came a long low building that served as restaurant, saloon and dwelling house." (See reference 1)

Post office service, primary schools and hotels had emerged on Lancaster landscape by the end of 19th century. But electricity took a little longer to come to this city and when it finally entered Lancaster in 1914, it gave this place a new life and a new identity. The changes that electricity brought along were felt in various minor and major ways but they all contributed towards amazing success of this city. From a small community of just 400 people in 1920, it grew steadily and within ten years its population increased to 1,550. The increase in the number of dwellers led to significant rise in business activities. The population today is more than 127,136, certainly no mean achievement for a city which got self-governance right only 25 years ago.

It is amazing that by 1930s, there were literally no medical clinics in the area. Lyle Sadler in his early recollections of Palmdale and Lancaster confirms the lack of medical facilities in this area. He writes, "For many years there were no doctors in Palmdale and a good part of the time none in Lancaster either -- people took care of themselves and each other or went for Mom Everett, a midwife who delivered most of the babies, scarcely ever lost one either. She was a pretty good substitute for a doctor." (See reference 2) Therefore the opening of its first big hospital in 1963 was a grand occasion for people here. Ronald Reagan also visited this city in 1969 when he was the governor of California. By 1970, the population has increased to 40,000 and people began pressurizing the government for official incorporation of the city. Stan Kleiner was the first elected mayor of Lancaster and since then the place has never looked back.

The city is designed keeping in mind the modern needs of Californians and all areas are carefully planned. It is interesting that most of the locations in this city easily lead to the famous Lancaster Boulevard and one is unlikely to get lost in this area. The city has its own theatres, schools, commercial center, and library and in short all modern amenities are available for its close-knit community. We must however not forget that transportation is still a major problem for new visitors because of the fact that there is no proper bus or train service available. Metro link started its operations in Lancaster a few years back but it is still in its infancy and visitors are likely to find commuting a major problem. For a city, which was discovered by a railroad company, it is rather strange that it has no mass transit system. It is important to understand that like other Los Angeles cities, Lancaster also suffers from frequent traffic jams especially during early morning hours. For this reason, people need a well-planned underground train system, which would make commuting easier.