This week I decided to visit my cousins who live in the small
town of Oak Park. The entire area has a total radius of 5.29 squared miles and a population of 13,811. It
is located in Simi Valley, next to cities like Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills.
I have been to this city more times than I can possibly remember and every time
I go I am overcome with a sense of calmness and tranquility. A walk around town
confirms the statistics from the census, showing a population of 83% white, 11%
Asian, and 6% all other ethnic groups. The majority of the residents are
elderly white couples who escaped the hustle and bustle of city life for the
more serene existence of the suburbs. Here the “American dream” can become a
reality, as rows and rows of picket fences and sculptured lawns are evidence of
a life that is planed, anticipated and organized. The homogeneity within the town is welcomed
by its residents and the uniformity gives a sense of relief to the population.
While walking around with my cousins they like to joke about how the
city is so small that it’s hard to find on a map, testing the capability of
most GPS systems. One of them even refers to the area as her little “bubble”,
referring to its isolation from the main cities in the area. Life moves at a
slower quieter pace, with no industries or large malls to pollute the
environment or assault ones senses
My cousins showed me their high
school and mentioned that their graduating class was only about 90 students and
that their school was so small that everyone knew each other’s names. This took
me completely by surprise as my high school had a student body of approximately
3,000 students, and my graduating class was composed of about 350 seniors, only
a handful of which I knew personally. However as Oak Park has a very small
population it seems only fitting that the kids, having grown up in the
neighborhood would somehow be acquainted. The problem that my cousins
encountered was that they went from classes of 10 or 15 students to
universities with classes of 50 to 100 students and that apparently was quite a
shock.
In class we discussed the idea of
decentralization and the home becoming the center sphere. Oak Park is a perfect
example as the use of a car becomes almost essential when living in this city
because this town has no malls, no movie theatres, and very few restaurants,
they don’t even have a gas station. Therefore residents need to drive to the
next town just to make use of such basic services (showing just how important
automobility is for the city). This area is by all definitions a residential
area providing a safe and secure neighborhood for raising kids or enjoying a
quiet life of retirement. Whenever I visit my cousins we drive the 10 or 15
minutes to Agoura hills and go to the mall there. This connectedness shows that
although the cities have become decentralized they are still linked in certain
ways and have this sort of interdependence on each other. Of course people have to drive to work and
depend on the main arteries of communications like the 101 and the 118
freeways. In 30 to 40 minutes, if traffic allows, you can reach the business
hubs in the area. The only major drawback
is the lack of access to an international airport. But those seeking the serenity of the suburbs
don’t mind a few inconveniences like these and feel that their improved quality
of life more than makes up for any such losses.
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