Title Making the San Fernando Valley : rural landscapes, urban development, and White privilege / Laura R. Barraclough

Published Athens : University of Georgia Press, [2011] ©2011

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Description 1 online resource (xii, 319 pages) : illustrations, maps Series Geographies of justice and social transformation ; 3 Geographies of justice and social transformation ; 3. Contents pt. 1. Creating the foundations of rural Whiteness, 1900-1960 -- Creating Whiteness through gentleman farming -- Narrating conquest in local history -- Producing Western heritage in the postwar suburb -- pt. 2. Consolidating rural Whiteness, 1960-2000 -- Protecting rurality through horse-keeping in the northeast valley -- Linking Western heritage and environmental justice in the west San Fernando Valley -- pt. 3. Rural Whiteness in the twenty-first century -- Urban restructuring and the consolidation of rural Whiteness -- Beliefs about landscape, anxieties about change -- "Rural culture" and the politics of multiculturalism Summary In the first book-length scholarly study of the San Fernando Valley -home to one-third of the population of Los Angeles- Laura R. Barraclough combines ambitious historical sweep with an on-the-ground investigation of contemporary life in this iconic western suburb. She is particularly intrigued by the Valley's many rural elements, such as dirt roads, tack-and-feed stores, horse-keeping districts, citrus groves, and movie ranches. Far from natural or undeveloped spaces, these rural characteristics are, she shows, the result of deliberate urban planning decisions that have shaped the Valley over the course of more than a hundred years. The Valley's entwined history of urban development and rural preservation has real ramifications today for patterns of racial and class inequality and especially for the evolving meaning of whiteness. Immersing herself in meetings of homeowners' associations, equestrian organizations, and redistricting committees, Barraclough uncovers the racial biases embedded in rhetoric about "open space" and "western heritage." The Valley's urban cowboys enjoy exclusive, semirural landscapes alongside the opportunities afforded by one of the world's largest cities. Despite this enviable position, they have at their disposal powerful articulations of both white victimization and, with little contradiction, color-blind politics. -- Publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record Subject White people -- California -- San Fernando Valley -- History Landscapes -- Social aspects -- California -- San Fernando Valley -- History Urbanization -- California -- San Fernando Valley -- History Social change -- California -- San Fernando Valley -- History Cultural pluralism -- California -- San Fernando Valley -- History HISTORY -- State & Local -- General. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Human Geography. Cultural pluralism Geography Landscapes -- Social aspects Race relations Rural conditions Social change Social conditions Urbanization White people SUBJECT San Fernando Valley (Calif.) -- Race relations San Fernando Valley (Calif.) -- Rural conditions San Fernando Valley (Calif.) -- Geography San Fernando Valley (Calif.) -- Social conditions Subject California -- San Fernando Valley Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2010015808 ISBN 9780820337579 0820337579 1282892126 9781282892125

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