"Los Angeles is the most different city I've ever known, in shape, in look," says Jason Lanzarini on the third episode of Cadê Moradia. With realtor Dina Silveira, a South Bay specialist, he opens the map and walks through the city "from top to bottom" — and admits he was surprised himself by what he learned about the place he's lived for more than a decade.

"There are a lot of people who even live in the city and think it's a city, when it's actually a neighborhood, or vice versa." — Dina Silveira, on the episode

Three Los Angeles

Dina recalls the basic distinction: there's the City of Los Angeles, there's Los Angeles County and there's Greater Los Angeles, which is bigger than the county. The city is one of the county's 88 cities; the county also includes Santa Clarita, Malibu, Long Beach, Pomona and dozens of others. And Greater Los Angeles also takes in Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. When someone says "I live in LA," they could mean any of the three.

What's a neighborhood and what's a city

On the map, the two sort out the most confusing cases:

• Neighborhoods of the City of LA: the entire San Fernando Valley (North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys…), Hollywood, Bel Air, Brentwood, Westwood, Venice, Westchester, Koreatown, San Pedro and Wilmington.
• Independent cities: Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Culver City, Compton, South Gate, Huntington Park — and, in the middle of the Valley, tiny San Fernando, surrounded by Los Angeles on all sides.

Jason admits he thought Venice was a city; Dina points out that neighboring Santa Monica, on the other hand, is one. A curious detail: Hollywood is a Los Angeles neighborhood, but West Hollywood is a separate city, known for its strong LGBTQ+ community, well kept and expensive, right next to Beverly Hills.

The "tail" down to the port

The strangest shape on the map is a narrow strip running down from the south of the city, alongside the 110 freeway, to the coast. Jason asks why it exists. The answer lies in history: in 1906, Los Angeles annexed this strip of land — known as the shoestring strip, today the Harbor Gateway neighborhood — to reach the sea. In 1909, it consolidated with the port cities of San Pedro and Wilmington, which became neighborhoods. That's how the city gained the Port of Los Angeles, which, together with the neighboring Port of Long Beach, forms the largest container port complex in the United States.

The airport belongs to the city too: LAX sits within Los Angeles city limits, between Westchester and the South Bay — which is why it bears the city's name.

Why it matters for anyone moving here

Dina sums it up: being a Los Angeles neighborhood means the city is in charge — the police are the LAPD, the fire department is the LAFD, the building and rental rules are Los Angeles's and, generally, the public schools belong to the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Torrance, where Dina started her life in the United States, is a different city, with its own police, city hall and school district.

In practice, crossing a street can change the Airbnb rules, the cap on rent increases, remodeling permits and your kids' school. Before closing a deal, it's worth confirming the exact address on the city's or county's website — Dina herself notes that Google Maps doesn't always make it clear whether an address is a neighborhood or a city. This newspaper's article "City, county and neighborhood in the United States" goes deeper into the effect on schools.

Sources and verification

• Episode 3 of the Cadê Moradia podcast (February 2026), with Dina Silveira and Jason Lanzarini.
• City of Los Angeles — historical annexations: shoestring strip (1906) and consolidation with San Pedro and Wilmington (1909).
• Los Angeles County — list of the county's 88 incorporated cities.
• U.S. Census Bureau — 2020 Census: population of the city (about 3.9 million) and of Los Angeles County (about 10 million).
• Port of Los Angeles / Port of Long Beach — container volumes.

This topic comes from the full episode — watch it:

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