Known as the Valley's first planned community after a transition from agriculture to a post-World War II housing boom, it has been home to several notable residents.

A "Conditions, Covenants, Restrictions" document filed with the county recorder declared that no Panorama City lot could be "used or occupied by any person whose blood is not entirely that of the white or Caucasian race.

"[3] Such restrictive covenants, which sometimes also limited ownership to people "of the Christian faith," were then common in many communities at the time.

Although rendered legally unenforceable by the Civil Rights Act of 1968, most of these documents have not been amended to remove the superfluous language.

The CRA-insured credit was provided to the entire community without regard to race or income, causing white flight as with many other areas of the San Fernando Valley.

[6] For the most part, the community is a mixture of small single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings.

[7] In 2008, the Los Angeles Times Mapping L.A. project described Panorama City as an area that was "moderately diverse" ethnically, with a high percentage of Latinos and a significant population of Filipinos.

Mexico (52.1%) and El Salvador (13.4%) were the most common places of birth for the 55.0% of the residents who were born outside of the United States—a high percentage for Los Angeles.

The center, which also functions as a Los Angeles Police Department drop-in facility, has an auditorium, a lighted baseball diamond, lighted outdoor basketball courts, a children's play area, a community room, an indoor gymnasium, picnic tables, and unlit tennis courts.

The Council gained its official city role upon certification by the Board Of Neighborhood Commissioners on March 15, 2007.

Metro and LADOT operates fixed-route transit bus service in Panorama City.

In 2027, Metro will open the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project light rail project with stations on Van Nuys Boulevard at Nordhoff Street and Roscoe Boulevard.

[16] Three other major department stores — Ohrbachs, J. W. Robinson's and Montgomery Ward – opened nearby over the next ten years, and they were marketed collectively as the Panorama City Shopping Center.

[17][18] The freestanding Ohrbach's building, designed by the architectural firm Welton Becket and Associates, is significant in that it represents "an early and important phase of commercial development" in the neighborhood.

[8][21] Schools within the Panorama City boundaries are:[22] Kaiser Permanente has a hospital and medical center complex on Woodman Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard serving the central and eastern San Fernando Valley.