Los Angeles
L.A. Leaders Play Politics with Pedestrian Infrastructure
A $3-billion street repair bond measure being drafted for the November ballot reflects L.A.'s traditional preference for automobiles over other modes of transport. Pedestrian advocates are fighting to fund sidewalk repairs. Will the pols listen?
L.A. Police Prioritize Penalizing Pedestrians
By expanding its transit and cycling infrastructure and creating pedestrian-friendly streets, L.A. is improving access to alternative forms of transportation. But in the city's most walkable area, police are out to prove the car is still king.
2013 Started a New Chapter in L.A.'s Story
Will 2013 be remembered as the year that Los Angeles embraced a new urban identity? Cultural, political, and planning and design-related events over the past year seem to suggest the city is experiencing "an urban reawakening".
To Beat the Heat, L.A. Mandates Cool Roofs
In case you haven't heard, L.A. gets a lot of sun. While this is great for getting a tan, it presents a challenge for mitigating the heat island effect and rising temperatures. New legislation requires that the roofs of new homes help beat the heat.
Developers Target Ultra-Luxury Renters in Los Angeles
In a city known for luxuriously appointed and boldly designed single-family homes, an unlikely market for super-deluxe residences is growing. "Over-the-top" apartments attract residents who want an urban lifestyle without a long-term commitment.
Exhibit Celebrates Supergraphics Pioneer
Designer Deborah Sussman was drawn to Los Angeles in 1953 by an opportunity to work in the studio of Charles and Ray Eames. Over the next sixty years, she helped to define how residents and others see the city. A new exhibit chronicles her work.
If You Build It, They Will Ride - Even in Car Crazy Los Angeles
A new study finds that within six months of opening, L.A.'s newest light rail line dramatically altered the travel behavior of those living within a half-mile of a station. Among those residents, rail ridership tripled and driving declined 40%.
L.A. Union Station's Pilot Program Discriminates Against Subway Passengers
Los Angeles’s Union Station is trying something new to keep the homeless at bay: restricting waiting room seating to ticketed passengers.
All Aboard L.A.'s Bike Commuter Train
This train is not steel wheels on steel rail - it is multiple two-wheeled rubber tires, commuting together, providing support and safety to novice cyclists, but sometimes it backfires. Interviewed is a frustrated motorist who intimidated them.
Do Psychological Barriers Doom L.A.'s Transit Transition?
Creating a culture of transit in Los Angeles will require more than just expanding the area's train and bus infrastructure. New riders will have to overcome the psychological barriers that prevent many people from ditching their cars.
Comprehensive Survey of L.A. Pools Dips Its Toes in Privacy Debate
A project by two researchers to map and measure all of the swimming pools in the Los Angeles basin is revealing not just for the information collected, but in how it exposed the ways in which personal privacy is being eroded by digital technology.
Downtown L.A.'s Residential Revolution
A plan to build 1,500 rental apartments where six parking lots now sit is just the latest sign of the insatiable demand for housing gripping downtown Los Angeles.
L.A. Addresses its Growing Homeless Population by Making it Harder for Them to Eat
Forced onto the street by decreased public spending, a poor economy and congested prisons, L.A.'s homeless population surged by 27 percent last year. Tensions are growing between those trying to help and those uncomfortable with the inundation.
Healthy School Food Initiative Nourishes L.A.'s Economy
A push by the Los Angeles Unified School District to increase its supply of healthy and locally-produced foods is paying dividends for area farmers and businesses.
Frank Gehry Rides to Grand Avenue's Rescue; Will Officials Cheer or Jeer?
Christopher Hawthorne reports that Frank Gehry is back in charge of the design for the quixotic $650-million Grand Avenue redevelopment after a disastrous redesign nearly scuttled the star-crossed project.
The Challenges of Re:Coding L.A.
A comprehensive zoning rewrite is a complex undertaking for any city. But for one that’s seeking to evolve its land use and transportation patterns, and is as physically and demographically diverse as L.A., a unique set of challenges has emerged.
Bucking National Trend, Homelessness Rises in N.Y. and L.A.
Despite a "remarkable" drop in homelessness across the U.S., sobering new data from HUD reveals that New York City's struggle with record high homelessness is getting worse, not better. Homelessness is up substantially in Los Angeles as well.
Sickened by Site Visit, Feds Want to Halt Drilling at Central L.A. Oil Field
Sen. Barbara Boxer is calling for an oil field owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of L.A. to suspend operations after EPA officials were sickened during a recent site visit. The field has been the subject of hundreds of neighbor complaints.
And the Award for Worst Traffic Goes to…
Vancouver, Canada, has the worst traffic of any North American city according to the latest TomTom Traffic Index rankings. Los Angeles takes second place.
L.A.'s Next Superhighway
Could Los Angeles get a private company to spend $3 billion to $5 billion to connect every residence and business in the city to a fiber broadband network? City leaders seem to think so, and are planning to move forward with an RFP.
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.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
