Los Angeles is a driving city, built to get us where we’re going as quickly as possible. Even on surface streets, what do we really see while driving? We scan other cars, watch for pedestrians, look for a sudden stop, usually while talking on a cellphone. It’s almost impossible to recognize the Hollywood sign in the distance, unexpectedly at the end of a street miles away, or to notice two tall buildings that, for a moment, trigger a memory of another place and time. Because we’re driving, and whatever we see is gone before we even notice. And if we don’t see it, LA is hidden from us.

But when we stop at a red light, if we stop and look (and get off the phone) we can see the true city, Los Angeles itself. These pictures capture the communal Los Angeles— the shared streets. The hidden city, out there in plain sight.