Once Upon a Time in the West.

The article presents information on a tiny enclave in the vast Los Angeles Basin, California, that, according to the author, inverts the demographics, politics and poetics of what Americans consider normal urban life. It is reported that it stands the traditional population pyramid on its head, that is only about 6 percent of its 36,000 residents are under 18 years of age, and a quarter are over 60. Its 1.9 square miles contain hardly an inch of undeveloped land; even without many conspicuous high-rises, it has the densest population of any city west of the Mississippi.