It is called Nature, Not Undeveloped
In driving to Palm Springs Wednesday we took the long and scenic route though the desert mountains rather than the highway. Although a few houses existed among the native plants it was about as rural as you can get.
A narrow two lane winds its way through the very rocky terrain and we stopped at the one lookout that actually had any sort of man-made platform. The view was spectacular — not a strip mall or tacky subdivision in sight. To many such an area would be termed “undeveloped” but I prefer to think of it as natural.
Miles and miles of land which, thankfully, would be difficult to develop. I know that I can come back in 20 years and be assured this will likely look much as it does now.Â
Reaching the end of the mountains you can see the Coachella Valley below, thousands of feet below.  Palm Springs is one of nine or so municipalities in this valley. The mountains act as a natural barrier against sprawling too far — although everything I saw was very low density.
Today we drive back to San Diego via the highways (uh, freeways in California) and I am sure the experience will be quite different. More developed, less nature.
Well since I grew up down there I guess I have a different view of where things are. 20 years ago, you wouldn’t have seen much down in Coachella Valley except the familiar square patterns of irrigated farmland. The mountains you think of as barriers are actually used as landscaping for developers who charge more for higher elevations. The further up the side they are allowed to go, the more they charge for the house. Each valley is filled with commuters until the cost to build further up the hill becomes prohibitive. Then they move to the next valley.
As late as 1985, there was little to no development between Ontario, San Bernardino and Palm Springs. Each was a separate city with smaller towns between. There were lots of open land and vineyards. As a small child I used to wake up to the smell of pressed grapes in Fall and the fragrance of red wine being spilled in the bottling plant nearly year-round. There are a lot of beautiful cities in LA that have succumbed to the internal rot that happens to the rings of suburbs around any expanding city. Garden Grove, Diamond Bar and Clairemont were once new cities populated by upper-middle class. 20 years pass and the new developments are 20 miles further on. Those cities are now crime-plagued, gang-ridden wastelands filled with used car dealers, nail salons and paycheck loan companies.
There isn’t an undeveloped stretch of valley or flat land from LA to almost Palm Springs. Thats 107 miles from Palm Springs to Downtown LA (130 to Santa Monica). People actually move there and commute 2-3 hours each way in LA traffic so they can have their small ranch home on a patch of land with an attached two car garage near a new strip mall and 5 miles from the mega mall they are building next to the interchange with a Macy’s and Sears and great food court!
My Uncle was slightly morbid and used to joke gangsters and politicians had to drive an hour to us so they could dump the bodies. [Yes, a few were found nearby.] Now there is little between LA and San Diego except for military bases. You have to drive North to the Upper Mojave to get away from people.
I live in St Louis (Southampton) now and chuckle at the “progress” people want to build here. People commuting to St Chuck and beyond; strip malls being built on local highways faster than they can expand the roads; and, “freeways” being expanded to meet the “needs of the future”. You can never build a highway large enough to accommodate the cars people will buy to fill it. They have 12-lane freeways in LA (that’s not even at an interchange where it can be 16 or more by now). They are building more in a crazy attempt to keep up with commuters and greedy developers. I64 won’t be big enough when they’re done. It just won’t. People will complain and politicians will start asking for money to remedy the problem. The solution is on this blog. Think Urban. Build dense and shop local.
Geez, sorry about the rant. I’ll stop now
That was a good rant. No apology necessary. I liked the last paragraph, and the body-dropping anecdote.
My folks just bought a retirement home in La Quinta (5 mins to Palm Spings) Cant wait to visit them. Plus I think I have em convince to put solar panels on their new adobe.
That was a great response equals42. I too have travelled P.Springs and all the areas around there. Who would have thought that the City of Hope built in Duarte was built way outside the city of LA limits and was known for its tuburculous treatments and the clean air. Now, its in the middle of urban sprawl and polution.
Same could be said of Phoenix. Who would have thought 50 years ago that all that arid, dusty desert would not support one of our largest (and most poluted) cites? Use to be a dry heat there…we’ve all heard the comment, but with the increase in urban sprawl and the increase in suburban lawns vs traditional desert shrubsPhoenix is seeing its average summer humidity levels rising. Can you imagine 115′ and 30/40/or 50 % humidity? It’s coming, that is why I left.
Oh and Steve, while you were out there driving along the freeway, admiring all that desert…did you notice all the palm trees? Palm trees belong in the desert right people? NOPE…they were an import.
It’s more than ironic that people move to St. Chuck, Eureka, etc. to escape the city and then MoDOT decides that they need to build more and bigger highways to reconnect them. Makes you wonder whether our transportation planners’ true building plans (with enormous future unfunded liabiliites) are for themselves (life-long paychecks, retirement benefits, etc.) or the public. Government and its agencies are out of control and stopping these trends will decide whether or not this country will continue to prosper. The longer we wait the harder it will be to reverse these destructive policies.
Yes the deserts east of San Diego are beautiful but have become part of urban sprawl. At least a few mountain ridges are being protected and hopefully will remain as natural as possible.
The big difference “out west” around LA, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver, etc., etc., is that you have high ground, dry air, vistas and overlooks and a lot less natural vegetation, so you can actually see the sprawl. Here, you need to look at the satellite photos to get a real perspective on just how far St. Louis has sprawled (and continues to), plus, it takes a perspective like equals42’s, of watching sprwal unfold over several decades. Your perspective, like mine last fall (first trip to PS), is just a snapshot in time. The only way that sprawl will slow down out west will be running out of water (which is happening rapidly).
The scary part of this whole equation is the statistical reality that the US population will grow by a third, from 300 milion to 400 million, over the next 30-35 years. Much of this growth will continue to be suburban sprawl. The trick will be in how St. Louis manages, plans for and works to (or not) attract this growth. Unlike many sunbelt cities, our water supply does not seem to be limited, and we won’t be flooded by global warming (as many coastal areas are predicted to be). It can bea great opportunity to finally reinvigoarte the area. But we need to start now to plan for higher densities, especially in “the city”, if we don’t want to look like southern California looks today. It’s a whole lot easier to create a vison and lay the groundwork when things are slow. Once the tidal wave hits, it’s usually too late . . .
Dang, was hoping you’d have some pictures and thoughts on Palm Springs itself. I waited a long time to go there, and was not disappointed.
One thing to keep in mind:
There is scarce little American land that remains unmolested in some manner. And Southern California owes most all of its 20th century development to modern advances in water, electricity and automotion (and for LA, the movie industry migrating from the east coast). Southern California may be the MOST auto-centric area in America, no getting around it. ‘Tis what it is.
What we commonly know as Palm Springs began as a car commuter getaway for the rich, famous and infamous. Or to be wholly simplistic: Palm Springs gained traction as a golf course for movie stars and their cronies. It’s ascendancy is based on the car and was laid out to accomodate the car.
So, trying to apply urbanist critiques or rules to a city that was never that – and thrives because of the car – is pointless.
So, Steel – can I stay at your parents place when I go to the Coachella Music festival this year? I promise not to mess anything up. 🙂
Maurice – Actually palm trees do grow in the Sonoran Desert (Palm Springs and environs). I used to rock climb out in the desert, near the “Oasis”, where the San Andreas fault is (around Palm Desert), and there were occasional natural palm groves out in the open desert. Fun places to climb around, seemed to be right up against the small mountains most of the time, many were almost hidden.