Date of Award

Spring 5-7-2024

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Urban Studies

First Advisor

Garth Myers

Abstract

This work draws upon the ideas of Edward Soja and other spatial theorists to compare the postmodern urban development of Los Angeles and Shenzhen, China. Both cities have undergone rapid growth and become major urban metropolises, offering potential paradigmatic forms for contemporary urban studies. The thesis is based on the ideas of the LA School of Urbanism, of which Soja was a part, and reviews the school’s collective case for Los Angeles as a paradigmatic city for the postmodern age. This work then compares this account of Los Angeles with Shenzhen, a city that has risen from nothing to one of the most prominent cities in China in the last 50 years. I find that both cities exhibit similarly postmodern traits, with Shenzhen appearing as a manifestation of the other side of the globalization spurred by cities like Los Angeles. I conclude with a discussion of the continuing utility of Soja’s work and the postmodern label for contemporary urban development.

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