Los Angeles

Light Rail Project Proposed Route

Light Rail Recommended for the San Fernando Valley

Transit planners with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority have recommended light rail for the planned East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor Project.

June 20, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

Venice Beach, Los Angeles

High Cost of Housing Driving Up Homelessness, Study Finds

A new study from UCLA confirms what past studies have found, that rising rents and housing prices are fueling California's homelessness crisis.

June 14, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Downtown Los Angeles

Bad News for L.A.'s Homelessness Strategy: Public Restroom Plan Falls Apart

The city's failure to deliver public restrooms is not the first sign of trouble for its sweeping homelessness plan, but it’s a painful one for the residents of Skid Row.

June 5, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

The Boring Company

Elon Musk's 'Personal Rapid Transit' Plans Panned By Critics

The "Loop" is the latest manifestation of Elon Musk's transportation fantasies, offering "personal rapid transit" to and from anywhere in Los Angeles without any congestion or cost.

May 31, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Mountain Lion

The Best Locations for L.A.’s Mountain Lion Freeway Bridges

A coalition of researchers have identified one area near the 101 and other near I-15 that would help keep the big cats alive and healthy.

May 28, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles STreet

Mobility as a Symphony: Los Angeles Prepares for Transportation of the Future

LADOT is rehearsing now for the day it has to manage autonomous vehicles alongside delivery drones and air taxis.

May 25, 2018 - The Planning Report

Salesforce Tower and 181 Fremont

California Getting Way More New Jobs Than New Housing

Even with tons of building permits already issued this year, the outlook for the state’s affordability crisis is pretty grim.

May 21, 2018 - The Mercury News

Hollywood Sign

L.A.'s Anti-Density Advocate Still Hopes to Make Planners 'Uncomfortable'

One of the main forces behind Measure S spills her thoughts on Hollywood, homelessness and what’s wrong with planning in Los Angeles.

May 20, 2018 - Curbed Los Angeles

Pasadena Bike Infrastructure

Shouting Down Road Diets

In car-dependent communities, road diets and bike lanes can be a tough sell.

May 15, 2018 - CityLab

Elon Musk Gigafactory

Behold: Elon Musk's First Tunnel

Take a first look at the fruits of the Boring Company's labor. According to Elon Musk, the tunnel will be open to the public for free rides later this year.

May 14, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Bird

Cities as ‘Powerhouses of Evolution’

A new book on urban ecology shows how quickly wild species living in cities can adapt to their surroundings.

May 12, 2018 - National Geographic

Golden Gate

California Population Grows to 39,810,000 in 2017

California added 309,000 residents last year, an 8 percent drop compared to annual increases since 2010. The state added a net 85,000 housing units, accounting for losses to wildfires.

May 11, 2018 - SF Gate

Los Angeles Homeless

Homeless Shelters a Tough Sell With Neighborhood Activists

A plan to streamline approval of a wave of homeless facilities in the city of Los Angeles is running into an early snag with an emergency shelter proposed for a parking lot in the Koreatown neighborhood.

May 10, 2018 - Curbed LA

Chicago Bus

Buses Are Under Threat, and Cities With Them

Buses are often the best tool for making a dynamic, equitable city, but they're in a period of decline that shouldn't be allowed to become a death spiral.

May 10, 2018 - CityLab

Delay Sign

Op-Ed: 'Public Mood' Has Turned Against Cars in Cities

A survey of recent planning decisions demonstrates that cities are no longer necessarily looking to more and bigger highways to solve their traffic problems.

May 4, 2018 - The New York Times

Los Angeles, California

An Aerial Tram Could Carry Fans to Future Dodgers Games

A coach suspended from a cable (like a big gondola or ski lift) has been proposed by private company Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies, to bring fans to Chavez Ravine in 2022.

April 30, 2018 - Curbed LA

Los Angeles Street

Trying to Remake L.A. as a More Walkable City

A legacy of discriminatory planning exacerbated the low-density sprawl that's been so hard for Los Angeles to roll back.

April 28, 2018 - The American Prospect

Los Angeles

Could Los Angeles Have Made Better Use of Former Redevelopment Funds?

After a state decision to abolish California's redevelopment agencies seven years ago, Los Angeles still received some of that money, directing it to city services instead of affordable housing.

April 26, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Southern California

Los Angeles: Focus on Urban Design (Not Just Urban Planning)

By embracing timeless principles of urban placemaking, we can create walkable transit villages and make room for housing at every socioeconomic level. First we have to re-invigorate high quality urban design.

April 25, 2018 - Gerhard Mayer

Los Angeles Harbor Freeway

California Has 8 of the 10 Most Polluted Cities in the U.S.

Despite ever-stricter air-quality regulations and dropping emissions, the American Lung Association once again finds the state to have some of the worst air in the nation.

April 24, 2018 - USA Today

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.