Los Angeles Times on real estate boom:
In the mid-1980s, Los Angeles residents discovered that a boom in land values was creating a new streetscape of mini-malls and multistory buildings. They worried that the low-rise neighbourhoods they deemed vital to LA’s style and quality of life were endangered by shadow-casting towers and commercial enterprises that didn’t provide enough parking for visitors. Voters approved an initiative that in some parts of the city put a strict cap on the allowable floor-area ratio.