Yeah ... people do really walk in L.A. in their own neighborhoods and they are many and diverse ... but we do spend a lot of time in cars and getting exercise at the gym, instead of walking.
Other good areas for walking around and people watching include; Westwood Village just outside UCLA, Montana Street in Santa Monica, Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood, Belmont Shores near Long Beach, Larchmont Blvd. near Hancock Park, Leimert Park, Toluca Lake, Studio City and Old Town Pasadena. And there's lots of neighborhoods that are just now changing from a bit scary to having more artists lofts and interesting shops anc cafe's ... like the Arts District downtown.
I also wanted to mention the the Getty images are probably not true street style ... since most photographers actually pay models or ask friends to pose, get model releases and then sell them through Getty for commercial uses. So the main people in these images probably have been asked to dress a certain way or have been styled ... no spontanaity.