Urban planning and the creation of memories in Los Angeles, 1780-1880 (California)

As the demographic transformation of the 1990's alter the cultural, social, economic and political structures of American society, there has been a rise in the number of groups attempting to safeguard "American traditions." Collective and individual memories are used to establish public commemorations, histories and traditions that support the status quo. Memories, specially public memories, are manipulated to recreate distorted picture of the past.; Urbanization and the creation of settlements are powerful instruments to to create memories. This monograph examines the relationship between the urbanization process and the formation of memories in the city of Los Angeles from 1780 to 1880. Through an examination of the physical structures of the town, the social organization, and the collective ideology, it demonstrates that the Spanish and American utilized the construction of memories to reinterpret the past and thereby legitimized their dominance over the native population.