July 10, 2025 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Letter: Response To “The Psychology Of Santa Monica Development”:

Editor’s Note: This Letter to the Editor is in response to Simone Gordon’s piece “The Psychology of Santa Monica Development” posted Thursday.

Dear Editor,

Psychology in the service of the dark side is not new – and it’s also not pretty. Rather than having a civil and rational discourse about differences of opinion with regard to land use and development policies in Santa Monica, Ms. Gordon, a supporter of the newly launched pro-development group “Santa Monica Forward,” while admitting she doesn’t know it all, has gone so far as to diagnose those who do not share her opinion.

To her, we are: “fearful, anxiety ridden, harboring an exaggerated sense of malice, suffering from serious personality disorders and emotional problems that cause us to be strident, defensive, mistrusting, unreasonable, conflicted and dysfunctional; also plagued with abandonment issues and unjustified paranoia, suspicion and distrust.”

Ms. Gordon compares those who don’t want to see Santa Monica destroyed by avaricious developers, to psychiatric patients throwing a fit and slamming themselves against padded walls. According to her, massive development in Santa Monica is inevitable and will occur whether all of the sick and unreasonable reactionaries in town buy into it, or not. Our only other option, according to Ms. Gordon, is to see Santa Monica decline into a depopulated and decaying city like Flint, Michigan. It seems she’s unaware of the protections provided to its residents by coastal cities such as Santa Barbara and Manhattan Beach.

It’s remarkable that someone such as Ms. Gordon, psychology student and consultant to developers, would condescend to “advise, protect and help” residents of Santa Monica as we “navigate this inevitable change and hopefully learn how to be more constructive, restructure our cognition, get more realistic, regulate our affect and modify our destructive reactionary behaviors.”

I wouldn’t stoop so low as to counter Ms. Gordon with the kind of smug, contemptuous, arrogance and insult that she employs, all the while disguising her aggressive doctrines in the half-baked terms of pop psychology.

Not being a credentialed psychologist, I wouldn’t pretend to know what to recommend in terms of effective therapy for this kind of pathology, but perhaps a good psychic-neurosurgeon should be called in.

I would, however, recommend to anyone wanting to know what makes a city happy to simply ask its residents. In the case of zoning and land-use policies, thousands of residents have spoken out loud and clear. They/we have said, “We don’t want Too tall, Too big, Too much!” We want a livable city with sunlight, air and a relaxed, non-congested lifestyle. And we want the City Council, Planning Commission and City staff to listen to us and not to favor developers. We are genuinely concerned about the very real consequences of over-development such as increased traffic and the degradation of our city’s character. And, lest we forget about the drought, what about water?! We have researched the facts and put forth logical means by which affordable housing, walkable streets and bike-paths can be incorporated into our city without selling its very soul to developers. We will not be silenced.

Gloria Garvin, PhD

Santa Monica

in Opinion
<>Related Posts

SM.a.r.t.Column: Happy Fourth of July 

July 2, 2025

July 2, 2025

SMart (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) hopes you are enjoying a great 3-day weekend as part of your...

SM.a.r.t Column: Cities That Never Shut Up – The Roaring Cost of Urban Noise

June 26, 2025

June 26, 2025

In today’s cities, silence isn’t golden—it’s extinct. From sunrise to insomnia, we’re trapped in a nonstop symphony of shrieking car...

SM.a.r.t Column: Santa Monica Needs to See the Light

June 19, 2025

June 19, 2025

How Santa Monica’s Growing Light Pollution Is Eroding Human Health, Safety, and Sanity There was a time when our coastal...

SM.a.r.t Column: California’s Transit Death Spiral: How Housing Mandates Are Backfiring

June 15, 2025

June 15, 2025

California’s ambitious housing mandates were supposed to solve the affordability crisis. Instead, they’re creating a vicious cycle that’s killing public...

SM.a.r.t. Column: A City Dying by a Thousand Cuts

June 5, 2025

June 5, 2025

Santa Monica, once celebrated for its blend of coastal charm and progressive ideals, is slowly bleeding out — not from...

SM.a.r.t Column: Oops!! What Happened? And What Are You Going to Do About It?

May 29, 2025

May 29, 2025

Our Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow (SMa.r.t) articles have, over the past 12 years, collectively presented a critical...

SM.a.r.t Column: Why Santa Monica Might Need a Desalination Plant, and Maybe Even Nuclear Power

May 22, 2025

May 22, 2025

Santa Monica is known for its ocean views, sunny skies, and strong environmental values. But there’s a challenge on the...

SM.a.r.t Column: SMO (So Many Options) Part 3: “Pie in the Sky”

May 17, 2025

May 17, 2025

SMO: Fantasy, Fact, and the Fog of Wishful ThinkingBy someone who read the fine print Every few months, a headline...

SM.a.r.t. Column: Owner Occupancy Protects Against Corporate Over-Development

May 2, 2025

May 2, 2025

This week SMa.r.t. will have as guest columnist Mark Borenstein. Mark is a long-time Santa Monica resident, a retired attorney,...

Opinion: Declaration of Economic State of Emergency in Malibu & Pacific Palisades: A Direct Result of the Devastating Impact of the Palisades Fire

April 27, 2025

April 27, 2025

Malibu and Pacific Palisades Request Emergency Financial Measures By Ramis Sadrieh, Chairperson, Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce    On behalf...

SM.a.r.t Column: The World’s Happiest Cities

April 27, 2025

April 27, 2025

Almost every year, we see new cities, regions, and countries that make the list(s) of our planet’s happiest and healthiest...

SM.a.r.t Column: A City for Everyone

April 20, 2025

April 20, 2025

Santa Monica dazzles with its ocean views, sunshine, and laid-back charm. But beyond the postcard image lies a more complicated...

SM.a.r.t Column: Part II: Rebuilding Resilient Communities: Policy and Planning After the Fires

April 13, 2025

April 13, 2025

The January 2025 wildfires that devastated Pacific Palisades and Altadena left an indelible mark on Los Angeles County. Beyond the...

SM.a.r.t Column: Innovative Materials for Fire-Resistant Rebuilding After the LA Fires

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

In the aftermath of the devastating 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, homeowners face the daunting task of rebuilding their lives and...

Opinion: Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath Community Column Regarding a More Accountable Homeless Services System

April 3, 2025

April 3, 2025

By Lindsay Horvath, Los Angeles Board of Supervisors This week marks a significant milestone in our fight to end homelessness...