A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD; NEW CENTERS AIM FOR SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

Byline: Betty Kwong and Barbara De Witt Daily News Staff Writers

It's a meandering metropolis. A city grown out of control. The land of sunshine, palm trees and celebrities - but no communities.

Los Angeles has been called all that, and worse. And maybe for good reason.

Maybe that's why, when we find a place that gives us that elusive, emotional, unexplainable something that makes this sprawling city feel like home, we go back - again and again.

Call it the quest for Cheers: ``Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name.''

But do these made-for-TV sanctuaries exist in real-life Los Angeles? Yes, say the experts. More and more, they can answer yes.

``We're at an interesting development in metropolitan Los Angeles, where enclaves are trying to pick up this networking system to re-create community,'' said Samuel Taylor, professor of social work at the University of Southern California.

``People are beginning to realize that they've given up an awful lot to get this sort of mass society,'' Taylor said. ``They want a personal relationship, a sense of affiliation, a sense of rootedness.''

And the first place to look for that is in your own back yard, he said.

Maybe you'll sense that neighborhood feeling at the antiques shops that have been mainstays for three decades on Sherman Way.

Or along the bustling corridor of Van Nuys Boulevard, where many merchants begin their day by dawn.

Or at the new outdoor shopping centers that are wooing families with fountains and musical entertainment, amenities that invite customers to relax and enjoy their neighborhood.

This need for a sense of community is not a new phenomenon. It's basic human nature.

``There's something good about going to a hardware store in your neighborhood and talking to someone who takes the time to talk to you. There's something, from a mental health standpoint, that's very good for the soul and good for the psyche that occurs in that face-to-face interaction,'' Taylor said.

Maybe it was just a matter of time, but we've come full circle.

Retail developers already are tapping into the mass desire for the good ol' days.

Rick Caruso of Caruso Affiliated Holdings used to build strip malls. Now he's the man behind huge undertakings that he calls ``lifestyle centers.''

His company's behind the Promenade at Westlake, which opened in 1996, and the Commons at Calabasas, which opened in November; both share the open-air atmosphere of a small village's center of commerce.

``Life has become faster and faster, and people want to slow down and feel a sense of community,'' he said. ``They want a safe, pedestrian-friendly environment, a place to hang out.''

His company targets communities that don't have a downtown or natural gathering place. And the Valley, he said, has many pockets of potential.

``We've looked seriously at Sherman Oaks, and if the land where the Sportsmen's Lodge (is located) became available, we'd be interested. There are also pockets in Granada Hills,'' Caruso said.

Communities such as San Fernando and Studio City that already have old-fashioned retail neighborhoods are well-positioned to seize on this interest in going back to the small-town shopping experience.

``We first noticed the trend with the creation of our open-air markets (in the mid-'90s) that are held one night a week. The events offer fresh produce and crafts but also appeal to families as a social event,'' says San Fernando's city administrator John Ornelas.

To cater to the crowd, Ornelas says San Fernando has recently started a 12-year plan to revitalize the downtown shopping district into a cultural and historical center with Hacienda Monterrey (mission) architecture, a bigger variety of stores and an area where people can sit and watch the world go by - like they did before malls proliferated across the Valley.

The merchants in Studio City, likewise, have homed in on the things that have helped their pedestrian-friendly shopping district along Ventura Boulevard weather the mall-mania years.

``We've always had a village atmosphere,'' said Joann Deutch, who serves on the Studio City Chamber of Commerce board of directors and its Economic Alliance Committee. ``And affirmations include high property values for homes within walking distance of the boulevard, the restoration of the footpath at Ventura Court, the installation of bicycle racks, and our Sunday Farmers Market, which attracts almost 5,000 shoppers each weekend.''

To encourage even more foot traffic, Studio City is working on new zoning to improve parking and allow more businesses to have tables and chairs on the sidewalk.

These neighborhoods know getting customers to come back isn't about bricks and mortar. It's in the small details.

A place to sit and relax awhile. Shopkeepers who know your name. A place where you feel safe nodding hello to a perfect stranger.

Much of Los Angeles has never quite mastered that connection to community, says Dale Pitt, who co-authored ``Los Angeles A to Z'' with husband Leonard Pitt.

``For me, there's a certain excitement in a city ... having diversification in the shopping, having diversification of older people and younger people. Having it small,'' Pitt said. ``There are neighborhoods in Los Angeles that have that.''

But you may have to get out of your cars to find them.

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5 Photos

Photo: (1--3--Cover--Color) On the cover: Meeting places where shopping, eating and chatting are all on the menu include Calabasas Commons, background, Plaza de Oro, lower left, and Encino Town Center, upper right.

(4--Color) An artist's rendering shows the pedestrian-friendly Grove addition to Los Angeles' Farmers Market.

(5) Officials are trying to attract more people to San Fernando's old-fashioned shopping district.

Tina Gerson/Daily News