LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles Spanish word for '"The Angels"' is officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A. It is the largest city in the U.S. state of California. Los Angeles is a sprawling Southern California city and the center of the nation’s film and television industry. Near its iconic Hollywood sign, studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers offer behind-the-scenes tours. On Hollywood Boulevard, TCL Chinese Theatre displays celebrities’ hand- and footprints, the Walk of Fame honors thousands of luminaries and vendors sell maps to stars’ homes.

• Los Angeles had an official population at the 2010 census of 3,792,621. The current population is estimated to be 3.99 million. 
• Los Angeles County has 75 miles of coastline and altitudes ranging from 9 feet below sea level at Wilmington to 10,080 feet above sea level atop Mt. San Antonio.
• Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles but commonly known as L.A., is California's most populous city and the second-most populous city in the US after New York City. 
• Los Angeles climate has often been described as “perfect” and with good reason. Most days are sunny and warm, with gentle ocean breezes in the summer.  The humidity is low with little rain.
• Some of the world’s best-known and most iconic landmarks and attractions call Los Angeles home: the Hollywood Sign; Griffith Observatory; the Getty Center; the Walt Disney Concert Hall at the Music Center in Downtown L.A.; the Hollywood Walk of Fame; the TCL Chinese Theatre; Space Shuttle Endeavour at the California Science Center; the Battleship USS Iowa located at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro; Air Force One at the Ronald Reagan Library; and Universal Studios Hollywood, with its dynamic immersive experience, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™.
• With various museums and exhibits, Los Angeles is full of inspiring art and diverse cultural experiences. In fact, Los Angeles has more museums and theatres than any other city in the U.S.
• Los Angeles is the world's premier center for the entertainment industry, home to a handful of the planet's most famous studios

The government of Los Angeles operates as a charter city (as opposed to a general law city) under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The elected government is composed of the Los Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and the mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor–council government, as well as several other elective offices. The current mayor is Eric Garcetti, the current city attorney is Mike Feuer and the current city controller is Ron Galperin. In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL), and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council.  It is located in the Civic Center district of downtown Los Angeles in the city block bounded by Main, Temple, First, and Spring streets.

Los Angeles is one of the most dynamic economies in the world, with a fast-growing and immense high-tech industry, world leading creative economy, tremendous strength in aerospace and advanced transportation, the nation’s largest manufacturing base, the nation’s largest international trade industry, and a rapidly increasing amount of venture capital investment in startups. With over a dozen major industries, the LA region is also known for innovation as creative collisions occur where industries overlap, driving new business concepts and entirely new sectors, making LA the creative capital of the nation. All this success can be traced to a highly diverse, skilled workforce and visionaries who are reinventing everything from transit to translational medicine.

Los Angeles is promoting research and development into sustainability and data science, adopting technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the quality of life of Angelenos. The city is facing challenges to urban functionality, such as congestion, as well as environmental issues like pollution, climate change, and the threat of natural disasters like earthquakes. To deal with these challenges, Los Angeles has become an early adopter of smart city solutions and is a testing ground for urban technology. The city is teaming up with universities and tech companies to improve services and help clean up the environment by, for example, facilitating recycling and waste disposal. Another objective is to boost the city’s ability to attract business and innovation. Los Angeles has been named America’s number one digital city for the third year in a row. According to the Center for Digital Government, the city is a leader in innovation and leveraging data to improve the lives of Angelenos by, for example, making transport more efficient and expanding green spaces. Other smart city goals include increasing government transparency and applying technological solutions to social issues.

Los Angeles is a hub of technology, from aerospace and defense to creative digital media and bioscience. Silicon Beach, the Westside region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, has a substantial pool of venture capital-funded startup companies. The city has promoted the growth of these sectors by fostering partnerships among businesses, universities, and government. However, the technology industry in Los Angeles is not simply there to support other sectors. It is a major player in its own right.