Changing Consumption Patterns: The Transformation of Orange County Since World War II
Author(s)
Venkatesh, Alladi
Abstract
This article uses Orange County, an affluent county in southern California, as a case study of an area whose consumption patterns, credit dependency, diverse shopping environments, changing family patterns, and extensive use of information technologies typify current trends in consumer culture. Many of the suburbs that once beckoned white, middle-class families to their sleepy, parochial neighborhoods in the 1950s are undergoing radical social and economic change. Unlike the suburbia of old, post-suburban areas mix different classes, races, industry, residential spaces, specialized services, and cultural activity. Consumerism is important to this transformation, especially in Orange County, where the prevalence of dual income, well-educated families, the proliferation of retail outlets, and readily accessible credit all contribute to a higher valuation of consumerist lifestyles.
