Hollywood is known as a city, but it feels more like a small town. There are only about 25,000 people who live within its borders. But there are so many famous people in Hollywood that you might think that everyone and their agent lives there. A city is an organized human settlement with a dense population, developed social services, and physical structures like buildings and infrastructure to support it. And while Hollywood has some of these qualities, it doesn’t quite meet all the criteria to be considered a city. Let’s take a look at why this is so. Are you ready? Here we go!
Is Hollywood A City?
No, it’s not. Hollywood is a district of Los Angeles, California. It’s in the southeastern vicinity of the City of Los Angeles and bordered by the San Gabriel Mountains to the north. Hollywood Hills is a residential district adjacent to this neighborhood, which has definitely become well-known for its reputation of luxury and extravagance. Hollywood is a prominent place for stars and celebrities to reside in Los Angeles.
Why Doesn’t Hollywood Feel Like A Real City?
1. The Proximity of Wealth and Poverty
Another reason that Hollywood doesn’t feel like a real city is the proximity of extreme wealth and extreme poverty. In most cities, there is a significant gap between the richest residents and the poorest residents. In New York City, for example, the richest residents are millionaires and the poorest residents are homeless people living in shelters. There are people in between, but the extremes are very far apart. Hollywood, on the other hand, has millionaires living next door to people living in shelters. There is a very small area between the extremes. In fact, there is often no space at all between the two.
2. The Small Size of the City
One big reason why Hollywood doesn’t feel like a real city is that it’s just too small. It has fewer than 26,000 people. That is a very small amount of people for a city. The recommended minimum population for a city is 100,000 people. That’s because you need a critical mass of people in order to have a proper city. If you have 25,000 people living in a city, you don’t have a city. You have a very large neighborhood.
3. The Lack of Infrastructure and Services
A third reason that Hollywood doesn’t feel like a real city is that it has very little infrastructure and very few services. For instance, it doesn’t have a large airport that connects it to other cities. In fact, it doesn’t even have a large commercial airport. It doesn’t have a large port for shipping. And it doesn’t have a large railway system or public transportation system. Other cities have all of these. They are important parts of a real city’s infrastructure. Hollywood also has very few arts and culture. It doesn’t have museums or libraries, and there aren’t many music or theater companies either.
4. Hollywood is More Like a Village than a City
In short, Hollywood is more like a village than a city. It has a small population, a small amount of infrastructure, and a small number of services. However, it has all of the other characteristics of a city. It has a mayor, a city council, police officers, and all the other things that make up a city. But this leads us to a question. Why isn’t Hollywood just called a village? Why is it called a city? Why do we even have the word city? The word city comes from the Latin word civitas, which means “community” or “town”. So when we use the word city, we’re just using a word for a large town or settlement. A city is an organized human settlement with a dense population, developed social services, and physical structures like buildings and infrastructure to support it. And while Hollywood has some of these qualities, it doesn’t quite meet all the criteria to be considered a city.
What Infrastructure And Geography?
- One of the reasons that Hollywood is often regarded as a city in name only is that its infrastructure is not very impressive relative to other cities—even other small cities. In fact, it’s downright inconvenient. For example, it has no public transit system. This isn’t just a matter of personal preference; the city was unable to get voter approval for a light rail system in 2008 and 2010, even though its population had more than doubled in the previous decade.
- The lack of public transit makes the area significantly less accessible to people who can’t afford cars or don’t have easy access to them. There are plenty of private transportation options, but they’re not cheap and they rarely provide service between Hollywood and areas more than several miles away.
- Hollywood itself consists mostly of residential areas with modestly sized homes built before 1950—but there are also many commercial areas dominated by office buildings and large apartment complexes that were built in later decades
- One of the reasons why Hollywood is such a strange place is that it’s actually not one city, but several. The “City of Hollywood” is the most recognizable part of this complex urban environment; it’s the place where the Hollywood sign is located, where tourists line up to visit the Chinese Theatre, and where famous landmarks like the Kodak Theatre and the Dolby Theatre are found.
- The other cities within the Hollywood borders are Los Angeles, the California metropolis that houses almost every Hollywood tourist attraction and has a population of 4.25 million people. East Hollywood, is a small neighborhood on the eastern edge of the City of Hollywood. West Hollywood, which is actually located on the western edge of the City of Hollywood. Century City is a business district that’s located between West Hollywood and the City of Hollywood.
What Culture And Tourism?
- Hollywood is perhaps best known as a cultural center and a popular tourist destination. However, its reputation as a virtual mecca for tourists dates back only as far as the early twentieth century, when several prominent hotels and studios began to offer guided tours of the neighborhood. Since then, Hollywood has become an internationally recognized brand, and it’s become associated with everything from the glitzy lifestyles of celebrities to the glamorous beauty of the “Golden Age of Hollywood.”
- For better or worse, tourists have come to expect that Hollywood is a place where you can find Chinese Theatre facsimiles, celebrity wax museums, and plenty of souvenir shops. Because Hollywood is such a heavily trafficked tourist destination, the neighborhood has a lot of souvenir shops, hotels, and attractions. As a result, it can also be very congested and chaotic.
- The “City of Hollywood” is also known for its many museums and cultural institutions. The largest of these is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which was built in 1965 and houses an impressive collection of art and artifacts. Located in the same neighborhood is the Academy Museum, which will open in 2019 with a collection that focuses on movies, television shows, and animation.
- The Hollywood Bowl also has a long history—it opened in 1922 as an outdoor amphitheater, but it hasn’t hosted live performances since 2003. In recent years, it has been used primarily as a summertime venue for classical music performances.
Bottom Line
Hollywood is an incorporated city, but it doesn’t feel like a real city. It doesn’t have the population, the infrastructure, or the services of a real city. If you’ve ever been to Hollywood, you’ve probably noticed that it doesn’t have any museums and that it doesn’t have much culture or art. And you probably also noticed that it feels much smaller than a real city. Hollywood is a large neighborhood with a large population, but it is mostly residential. It doesn’t have the businesses of a real city, such as large office buildings or commercial airports. And while it’s technically a city, it would be more accurate to call it a very, very large town or neighborhood.
