Los Angeles' Merchant of Sprawl
Los Angeles is mourning the death of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad. For all of Broad's many civic contributions, he made his fortune in a decidedly anti-urban way.
May 4, 2021, 9am PDT | Josh Stephens |
"Broad built tract homes. He built them on the urban fringe. Once he was done bulldozing one fringe, he went on to the next, pushing the rings of sprawl outward from whichever urban center they orbited. He focused primarily on the Los Angeles and Phoenix regions, with projects in the San Antonio, Tucson, and Las Vegas areas, among others. Various incarnations of KB Home have built, in total, over 600,000 homes since Broad and partner Donald Kaufman founded the company in 1957."