los angeles tech scene
Visitors to L.A. – or locals looking for a fun reason to leave their apartments – can scroll the interactive map on a browser or download the app.
Image courtesy of the L.A. Tourism Dept.
The “Discover Los Angeles” map can be broken down by neighborhood or by a series of “guides,” which all feature as part of the larger promotional campaign roll-out known as the Explorer’s Guide to L.A
Atlas Obscura and the Tourism Department also published a hardcover edition of the Explorer’s Guide, along with several other speciality breakout guides, including the Meeting Planners Guide, artistic Visitor’s Map and, for those with more expensive tastes, the L.A. Luxury Guide to the city’s pricier pursuits. The paper versions of the guides have QR codes for travelers to scan and take information with them on the go.
This year’s collaboration with Atlas Obscura gives the Tourism Department’s previous guide a much-needed update – it was previously a whopping 136-page PDF document created in 2020.
The Explorer’s Guide includes a mix of places you’d expect to see on the map, like Griffith Park and the museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. It also has some unlikely spots sourced from Atlas Obscura’s network of local explorers who recommended their favorite places to visit: the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Venice Canals or the Watts Towers, a stunning, monumental public art exhibit of mosaic steel towers that was built by one Italian immigrant over a 34-year period.
30 neighborhoods are discussed in the guide, from classic tourist destinations like Hollywood and beach cities like Santa Monica and Venice to lesser-known but still exciting enclaves like Leimert Park, Frogtown and Little Ethiopia. There’s also several maps for specific interests – taqueria lovers will find new spots to nosh with the taco map, and there’s also a map of the Downtown Arts District, spots to stargaze and sports venues.
“For myself and the writers and editors on this project, many of them L.A. natives, getting to write and curate the official visitors guide to the city of L.A. was an absolute dream,” Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras said in a statement. “We hope that these guides will inspire all the curious travelers arriving in L.A., to try new things, as well as providing new adventures for longtime L.A. residents. There is really no limit to what L.A. has to offer.”
The event’s panelists include Slack senior vice president Brian Elliott, SoCal Edison senior vice president Natalie Schilling, L.A. Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) vice president Jessica Ku Kim, Arup associate principal Katherine Perez and Geolab CEO Kian Gohar, among others.
Elliott kicked off the discussion by noting that even Slack—whose online workplace communication software became pervasive during the pandemic—found the initial shift to remote work as a shock to its system.
SoCal Edison senior vice president Natalie Schilling shares her thoughts on the hybrid-work model. Photo by Justin Han
“Less than 3% of our workforce were remote [before the pandemic],” he said. “Most people assume that because we’re a technology company, we were already doing [remote work] all along.” One positive was in hiring, Elliott noted, as the new remote work model allowed Slack to more easily recruit and acquire talent from all around the world.
Gohar chimed in by pointing out how “the pandemic really made us reassess all our assumptions about how we live, how we work, how we socialize and how we learn.”
While lockdowns saw society realize the importance of “essential” workers in industries like food and health care, whose jobs could not be done at home, there were advantages gained by making many jobs remote. Workers could save time and money by eliminating their commutes, while carbon emissions also fell. Working parents with caregiving responsibilities were also generally provided more work-life balance and flexibility that they didn’t have pre-pandemic.
But with office occupancy rates slowly creeping back up, there are divides emerging between those more satisfied with the new normal and those who’d prefer a return to pre-pandemic ways.
"Future of Work" event speakers and attendees pose for a photo. Photo by Justin Han
Perez said she is seeing a divide at her design and engineering firm among executives—many of whom have families and want to continue working from home—and junior staff who seek the mentorship and collaboration that comes with being in the office.
On the flip side, Schilling said employers may risk losing out on talent if they don’t provide work-from-home options—particularly younger employees fresh out of college and low on savings, who may balk at paying today’s sky-high gas prices in order to commute.
“The biggest concern [at SoCal Edison] is connectedness, productivity and getting people to want to stay at our company,” Schilling added.
While the conversation around what “the future of work” will look like remains open for debate, most of the panelists found common ground on Kim’s observation that “one size does not fit all”—and the sentiment that what may work for one company in a post-pandemic world may not be the best for others.
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