1.   CANOGA PARK, Calif. - With its jammed freeways, smoggy horizons and fast-paced lifestyle, Los Angeles can be a pretty frustrating place.

2.   Flashing arrows direct traffic off jammed freeways to jammed service roads and jammed side roads.

3.   Los Angeles is what it seems to be, a collection of closed neighborhoods badly connected by jammed freeways, and many of its stereotypes are true.

4.   California faces strained water supplies, jammed freeways, rising housing costs and overcrowded airports and urban schools.