The optimistically-named Century City has always felt to me like a Ballardian complex of futuristic ruins preserved intact, all gleaming skyscrapers and acres of asphalt devoid not only of foot traffic but even street parking, too--talk about utopian! As a result, this "city" has a stark, artificial beauty to it that quickly becomes tinged with menace after nightfall. Narrowing things brings the atmosphere closer to that of a Manhattan-cum-palm-trees, but the fact remains that Century City can never escape its true architectural roots: the suburban business park. Strip out those traffic lanes!