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The (Metro) Los Angeles Shadow Ballot

It's Election Day. We want to hear from you! Make your voice heard than with one more online survey. All answers are optional. Answer or skip as many as you wish. Write in no more than three answers, however. Any additional answers will be disqualified. Polls will remain open until December 2026.

SECTION 1: THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE, VERNACULAR CORRIDORS, &c

Best Skyline (Natural or Human-Made)

Best Highrise (13+ Stories)

Best Midrise (4-12 Stories)

Best Bungalow Court

Best Courtyard Apartment

Best Example of Cheesecake Factory Revival Architecture

Wrought-iron Juliet balconies, marble floors, patina washed stucco, the Ballroom, &c

Best Freeway Fortress

Classy Italian names, Papyrus typeface signage, prison-style gangways, empty-by-design commercial ground floors, and outlet mall aesthetics.

Best Office Park

Those liminal, mirrored glass, corporate utopian relics that surround cities like exurban fairy rings.

Best Functional Industrial Architecture

For every eye-catching starchitect design; there’s a sewage plant, gas refinery, or pumping station that’s overlooked for no other reason than that its form follows its function.

Best Example of Smogcheck Revival Architecture

The aesthetics of Concrete Masonry Units are no longer limited to light industrial zones.

Best Use of Breeze Blocks

Best Use of Glass Bricks

Stripmall Most Deserving of Historic-Cultural Monument Designation

Best Arcade

A covered pedestrian passageway lined with shops on one or both sides – not a video game arcade.

Best Video Game/Pinball Arcade

Freeway Interchange Most Deserving of a Memorial Name

Identify the interchange and provide the suggested name.

P

arking Structure Most Deserving of Historic Preservation

Unincorporated Area Most Deserving of Cityhood

There are more than 200 unincorporated communities in Los Angeles County alone.

City Most Deserving of Annexation by the City of Los Angeles

San Pedro, Wilmington, Hollywood, Sawtelle, Eagle Rock, Hyde Park, Venice, Watts, Barnes City, and Tujunga were all independent “cities” before they were absorbed into the City of Los Angeles. Which city should be next?

Neighborhood/Region Most Deserving of Secession

No part of Los Angeles has ever successfully seceded – but several (Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley, San Pedro, and Wilmington) have tried.

Metro Project You’d Most Like to See Completed Yesterday

Metro Station Most In Need of Improvement

Best Bus Line/Route (Not BRT)

Best Smaller Bus Service

Retired Bus Line Most In Need of Being Restored

Best Post Office

Neighborhood Most Deserving an Open Streets Event That’s Never Had One

Intersection Most In Need of a Roundabout

Best Street to Walk Along

Street/Infrastructure Most Deserving of a Linear Park Conversion

Think Paris’s Promenade Plantée or Seoul’s Seoullo 7017.

Street Most Deserving of a Car-Ban

Antisocial Motorist Activity You’d Most Like To See Draconically Crushed

Most Obnoxious Type of Automobile or Truck

Most Unwelcome Sidewalk Nuisance

Best Pedestrian Plaza

Neighborhood Most Deserving of a Barcelona-Style Superilla

Most Ridiculous “Public Square"

It took more than 150 for Los Angeles to create its first four public squares: Plaza de Los Ángeles, Pershing Square, Morin Memorial Square, and Fletcher Bowron Square. In the last 50 years, however, the city has started slapping beige "public square" designations over more than 200 unimproved, hostile intersections.

Best Neighborhood Passeggiata

Best Walk Street

e.g. public stairways, stair streets, and other car-free residential streets

Gated Street Most Deserving of Liberation

Best Alley

Best Bridge

Best Liminal Space

Best Fountain

Best Self Storage Building

Best Marquee

Best Neon Sign

Best Incandescent Sign (No Neon)

Best Ghost Sign

Abandoned Building Most Deserving of Adaptive Reuse

Best Ruins

Tourist Trap Most Worth Visiting

Best Theme Park-Like Space That’s Not a Theme Park

Best Novelty Transit

i.e. mall trolleys, live steamers, model trains clubs, museum trams, theme park trains, &c.

Best Fiberglass Muffler Man

Best Commercial Mural

Best Sculpture Garden

Best Folk Art

Best Site-Specific Public Art

Best Plop Art

“Never Built Los Angeles” Project That Most Deserves to Be Built

Dead Local Chain Most Deserving to Be Revived

Most Missed “Things That Aren't There Anymore”

Unrecognized Ethnic Enclave Most Deserving of Official Recognition

Best Westside Neighborhood/Community

Best Hollywood Neighborhood/Community

Best Midtown Neighborhood/Community

Best South Los Angeles (Westside) Neighborhood/Community

Best South Los Angeles (Eastside) Neighborhood/Community

Best Harbor Neighborhood/Community

Best South Bay Neighborhood/Community

Best Southeast Neighborhood/Community

Best Eastside Neighborhood/Community

Best Northeast Neighborhood/Community

Best Mideast Neighborhood/Community

Best Northwest Neighborhood/Community

Best Verdugos/La Crescenta Valley Neighborhood/Community

Best San Fernando Valley Neighborhood/Community

Best San Gabriel Valley Neighborhood/Community

Best Santa Monica Mountains Neighborhood/Community

Best Antelope Valley Neighborhood/Community

Best Southern California Community (Outside of Los Angeles County)

Best Specialized Los Angeles District

Best Nominal Village (Urban Neighborhood with "Village" in its Name)

Best Actual Village (Population under 1,000)

SECTION 2: THE NATURAL & LIVING GEOGRAPHY

Best Mountain 

Best Mountain (or Hill) Range

Best San Gabriel Mountains Site

Best Channel Islands Site

Only two of the Channel Islands – San Clemente and Santa Catalina – are part of Los Angeles County. However, since this is “Metro Los Angeles,” don’t necessarily feel restricted to those two.

Best Waterfall

Best Forest

Best (Individual) Tree

Best Lake or Reservoir

Best Wetlands

Best Arboretum/Garden

Best Japanese Garden

Best Cactarium/Desert Garden

Best State Park (in Metro Los Angeles)

Best County Park

Best Large City Park (Over 100 Hectares)

Best Pocket Park (Under 1,000 Square Meters)

Best Parklet

Best Plant Nursery

Municipal Property That Should Be Re-Landscaped with Native Plants

The City of Los Angeles actively promotes and financially incentivizes native landscaping and xeriscaping for Angelenos through the LADWP’s Turf Replacement Program. It doesn’t, however, practice what it preaches and in the past has even replaced appropriate landscaping with fallow, thirsty grass lawns.

Channelized Stream Most Deserving to be Daylit

The Los Angeles County Flood Control District channelized – and in many cases entombed beneath streets – the region’s vast network of waterways in the early 20th century. Strawberry Creek was restored (daylit) in 1982 in Northern California. No stream has ever been daylit in Los Angeles.

Best Fallen Fruit

When you’re walking on a sidewalk, you’ll often be able to snag a ripe fruit or two from a branch or vine. If it’s a fig, guava, or loquat – you’re probably doing the owner of the tree (assuming there is one) a favor.

Best Forageable Plant (Native or Invasive)

From natives like elderberry, sugar bush, toyon, and fuchsia to common invasives like black mustard, cheeseweed mallow, nasturtium, wild fennel, and wild radish — Los Angeles is a virtual salad bar.

Best Edible Native Mushroom

Best Bird-Watching

Best People-Watching

Best Diving or Snorkeling Spot

Best Month to Be in Los Angeles

SECTION 3: THIRD PLACES, THE URBAN COMMONS, &c

Best Bagels Outside of Their Birthplace (Kraków)

Best Pizza Outside of its Birthplace (Naples)

Best Proper Coffee Shop

i.e. serves coffee in a ceramic mug and welcomes enjoyment rather than a soulless caffeine clinic.

Best Food Hall

Best Food Cart/Street Vendor

Best Al Fresco Dining

Best Vegetarian Restaurant

Best Vegan Restaurant

Best African Restaurant (Besides Ethiopian)

Best Argentine Restaurant

Best Armenian Restaurant

Best Belizean Restaurant

Best Cambodian Restaurant

Best Colombian Restaurant

Best Ethiopian Restaurant

Best Filipino Restaurant

Best Guatemalan Restaurant

Best Honduran Restaurant

Best Indonesian Restaurant

Best Iranian Restaurant

Best Italian Restaurant

Best Korean Restaurant

Best Lebanese Restaurant

Best Mexican Restaurant

Best Nicaraguan Restaurant

Best Peruvian Restaurant

Best Salvadoran Restaurant

Best Taiwanese Restaurant

Best Thai Restaurant

Best Vietnamese Restaurant

Best Home Kitchen (Any Cuisine)

Best Probably Greek-Founded Burrito and Pastrami Burger Joint

Best Restaurant Operating in a Former Fast Food Chain Shell

Best Legacy Restaurant

Best Brewery

Best Locally-Brewed Beer

Best British Pub

Best Irish Pub

Best Grocery Store Bar

Best Izakaya

Best Pocha

Best Distillery

Best Cidery or Cider Bar

Best Meadery (Southern California)

Best Wine Bar

Best Legacy Bar

Best Early House

i.e. open at or before 7:00 a.m.

Best Tea Shop

Best Weed Shop

Best 24-Hour Joint

Best Outdoor Market or Sidewalk Vending

Best Street Fair, Street Festival, or Parade

Best Local Independent News Source

Best Local Podcast

Best AM Radio Station

Best Online-Only Radio Station

Best FM Radio Station

Best Official Neighborhood Mascot

Best Grassroots Mutual Aid & Community Organization

Best Community Organization/Club

Best College/University Campus

Best Library

Best Independent Book Store

Best Traditional Pharmacy/Soda Fountain

Best Niche Sport Facillity

Best Bowling Alley

Best Black Box/Storefront Theater

Best Drag Venue

Best Karaoke Venue

Best Small Live Music Venue

Best Current Indie Musical Act

Best Musical Act from Los Angeles (Ever)

Best Musical Act that Relocated to Los Angeles

Best Performing Arts Center

Best Perfumery

Best Los Angeles-Based Fragrance Brand

Best Night Market

Best Swap Meet

Best Micro-Cinema/Alternative Screening Venue

Best Commercial Foreign Language Cinema

Best Niche or Genre Film Festival

Best Foreign Cultural Institute

Best Small/Specialty Museum

Best Sacred Architecture

Best Roadside Shrine

Favorite Cult/New Religion

Best Amtrak or Metrolink Accessible Out-Of-Town Weekend Vacation Site

Most Deserving of Inclusion on a Native Angeleno Mount Rushmore

Most Deserving of Inclusion on an Immigrant Angeleno Mount Rushmore

Most Deserving of Inclusion on a Refugee Angeleno Mount Rushmore

Most Deserving of Inclusion on a Transplant Mount Rushmore

Favorite International City That’s Not Los Angeles

Other Categories For Consideration