Geoff Manaugh, Smout Allen, and co. investigate the future of Los Angeles in a new exhibition at the USC Libraries

2015-10-28T15:39:00-04:00

It’s 2040, and Los Angeles has just begun to recover from a devastating epidemic that wiped out much of its population. Former residents slowly trickle back, alongside new immigrants drawn to the city’s surplus housing stock. But at a lab in Westwood, epidemiologists fear the disease is mutating and could potentially return…

At least that’s one possibility. Alternatively, the city may triple in population and expand into the Pacific Northwest. Immigrants may flock to Southern California from Chelyabinsk Oblast in Russia. Or, contrarily, officials may exploit census data to facilitate mass deportations.

These are some of the many possible future scenarios for Los Angeles imagined in L.A.T.B.D., a project by writer Geoff Manaugh in collaboration with the London-based studio Smout Allen – comprised of Mark Smout and Laura Allen – and Jeff Watson, the Assistant Professor of Interactive Media and Games at the University of Southern California, with input from a host of other experts incl...

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Geoff Manaugh, Smout Allen, and co. investigate the future of Los Angeles in a new exhibition at the USC Libraries