Background on the Region
Before going into great detail about Fontana, the city where the research took place, it is important to note its role in the greater Los Angeles Region, which famed geographer Edward Soja details above in his "Sixty-Mile Circle". The urban region is largely comprised of the pentagon shown above, while the fringes of the circle were largely for industrial and military purposes, with Fontana being the former.
Before becoming an industrial powerhouse, Fontana was primarily supported by two key industries: citrus and poultry. Under the tutelage of Azariel Blanchard (A.B.) Miller, Fontana farmers would be provided with state-of-the-art farm equipment and be instructed to grow the staple citrus, poultry, and walnut trees that would allow Fontana to become an incorporated city. Fontana Farms, as the company was known, allowed for thousands of homes to be established in the area and was followed by a number of neighboring territories.
By the beginning of World War II, the influence of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser - founder of Kaiser Steel, a steel company, and Kaiser Permanente, a health care provider for Kaiser workers - had reached the farms of Fontana. With the construction of the Kaiser Steel Mill, Fontana began to take the shape of the industrial city that Soja noted. As many of the Rustbelt cities like Detroit saw deindustrialization, cities in the surrounding Los Angeles area saw unprecedented growth through government defense contracts, with aerospace being one of the most prominent.
However, even the largest empires must end and so was the case with Fontana after the closing of the Kaiser Steel Mill in the 1980s. With the majority of the population no longer seeing a need to stay in Fontana, they fled to nearby suburbs. Soon, Hispanics would come in and take jobs in the growing trucking industry, which would later become its most important industry. Today, Fontana struggles to find its place; with the flight of whites to the suburbs and a predominantly immigrant population, it could not follow the success that other Los Angeles cities had.
Before becoming an industrial powerhouse, Fontana was primarily supported by two key industries: citrus and poultry. Under the tutelage of Azariel Blanchard (A.B.) Miller, Fontana farmers would be provided with state-of-the-art farm equipment and be instructed to grow the staple citrus, poultry, and walnut trees that would allow Fontana to become an incorporated city. Fontana Farms, as the company was known, allowed for thousands of homes to be established in the area and was followed by a number of neighboring territories.
By the beginning of World War II, the influence of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser - founder of Kaiser Steel, a steel company, and Kaiser Permanente, a health care provider for Kaiser workers - had reached the farms of Fontana. With the construction of the Kaiser Steel Mill, Fontana began to take the shape of the industrial city that Soja noted. As many of the Rustbelt cities like Detroit saw deindustrialization, cities in the surrounding Los Angeles area saw unprecedented growth through government defense contracts, with aerospace being one of the most prominent.
However, even the largest empires must end and so was the case with Fontana after the closing of the Kaiser Steel Mill in the 1980s. With the majority of the population no longer seeing a need to stay in Fontana, they fled to nearby suburbs. Soon, Hispanics would come in and take jobs in the growing trucking industry, which would later become its most important industry. Today, Fontana struggles to find its place; with the flight of whites to the suburbs and a predominantly immigrant population, it could not follow the success that other Los Angeles cities had.
Fontana: Today
Today Fontana has become an expansive city, largely through the construction of new homes in the area above the 210 Freeway and below the 10 Freeway. It can be best described as three cities in one. The first consists of the central area, between the 210 and 10, which includes the oldest parts of Fontana and houses much of the city's 200,000+ population, as well as much of Fontana's infamous gangs. The second is the area below the 10 Freeway, which contains much of the remaining industrial areas as well as a large part of the new housing built in the last 20 years. The third is the area above the 210 Freeway which is typically viewed as the most affluent area by residents as it contains the most successful high school in the district as well as the highest incomes. Though much of the city is Hispanic, it is generally agreed upon that the white population is typically concentrated in this area. While white flight was predicted to have a negative impact on the city, few could have braced themselves for the ruins that Fontana would be left in. Fontana High School's once nationally-recognized football team was now struggling to compete against its neighbors. Academics were hit the hardest; with the white flight came income flight and so schools struggled to maintain funding in many departments throughout the district. By my freshman year of high school over 10 different programs had been cut, with "lower-tier" sports teams and school counselors being cut next. Today, Fontana's academics, save for the occasional exceptional student, typically fall far below the state and national averages.
Fontana's underbelly: gangs
A large part of my research took place on the railroad tracks pictured above, an easily accessible spot for graffiti writers in the neighboring apartments.
Originally, I had planned to analyze the types of graffiti in the area, gang related or not. To my surprise, Professor Bloch pointed out much, if not all, of the graffiti pictured above was gang related, as well as possessing an LA style of writing even he had not seen in a long time. This changed the direction of my research completely and made me look for a new angle to explain why gang graffiti was so prominent in this area.
Something I found interesting was that the street that ran perpendicular to the tracks - Oleander Ave - had become closed off by fences on both sides. Years ago, the tracks were always open to people just walking through but after years of citizens crossing over the hazardous tracks, I assume the city decided to step in and increase the security. The other side remains closed off but the northern side, which is the side closest to the aforementioned apartments has been forced open. I do not remember clearly if graffiti, particularly gang graffiti, was this rampant 5 years ago when I still used this path but it has clearly become a space largely closed off to the rest of the city while still being enjoyed by a small community.
As previously stated, increased private investment has turned Fontana's downtown into a booming one, which also requires increased policing. Because of this, graffiti writers would find it very difficult to write on commercial buildings, their most common target. This brings the Belmont tunnel to mind; both are instances where a sense of community in an otherwise barren space. While the group in this case is less than savory, it is nonetheless an important space for community building; over the course of our class, we have seen mostly righteous waving the DIY/bottom-up urbanism flag but we must also recognize communities like this. I do not condone their behavior by any means, in fact I have perhaps some of the most compelling reasons to hate their every action. They have become horrible parts of our small community and made some spaces unsafe for even the most innocent bystanders. But still, I defend their use of the space because it is all they have; after being exiled from much of the city, they now use gang graffiti to create a community in this small, forgotten space.
As I said, I do not wish to romanticize the actions/behavior of these individuals but I respect their use of the space when all other avenues have been closed off to them. I do believe, however, that the closing of the tracks to the rest of the city allowed for something like this to occur. Thus, we have a case where policing creates crime rather than decreases it; any non-gang member passing through the tracks when a gang member was writing on the wall would present a possible witness and while this would not eliminate graffiti in the area completely, it would make them consider less busy hours to do their business. As a member of the larger community in Fontana, I am fine with their actions in that space because it means we all have less to fear outside of it.
As previously stated, increased private investment has turned Fontana's downtown into a booming one, which also requires increased policing. Because of this, graffiti writers would find it very difficult to write on commercial buildings, their most common target. This brings the Belmont tunnel to mind; both are instances where a sense of community in an otherwise barren space. While the group in this case is less than savory, it is nonetheless an important space for community building; over the course of our class, we have seen mostly righteous waving the DIY/bottom-up urbanism flag but we must also recognize communities like this. I do not condone their behavior by any means, in fact I have perhaps some of the most compelling reasons to hate their every action. They have become horrible parts of our small community and made some spaces unsafe for even the most innocent bystanders. But still, I defend their use of the space because it is all they have; after being exiled from much of the city, they now use gang graffiti to create a community in this small, forgotten space.
As I said, I do not wish to romanticize the actions/behavior of these individuals but I respect their use of the space when all other avenues have been closed off to them. I do believe, however, that the closing of the tracks to the rest of the city allowed for something like this to occur. Thus, we have a case where policing creates crime rather than decreases it; any non-gang member passing through the tracks when a gang member was writing on the wall would present a possible witness and while this would not eliminate graffiti in the area completely, it would make them consider less busy hours to do their business. As a member of the larger community in Fontana, I am fine with their actions in that space because it means we all have less to fear outside of it.