Los Angeles
Watch North America's Cities Grow Up
A Canadian real estate startup has created striking animated 3-D visualizations of the evolution of the skylines in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.
L.A. Looks to NYC for Pedestrianization Inspiration
Inspired by Manhattan's pedestrianization of Times Square, L.A.'s city council recently approved $1.8 million in funding to reduce a major downtown thoroughfare's roadway by half to make room for "a massive increase of the pedestrian infrastructure."
Outgoing L.A. Mayor Leaves a City Transported
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has certainly fallen short with some of his ambitious agenda items (including his attempt to take over the city's school district). But when it comes to transportation, the mayor has had a dramatic, and lasting, effect.
Delayed L.A. Bike Share to Launch Next Year - at the Earliest
It was supposed to launch last year. Then it was going to start this spring. Now, Bike Nation, the supposed operator of L.A.'s citywide bike-share system, is saying the first of its 4,000 bikes won't appear on city streets until "sometime" next year.
Three Decades After His Death, Pioneering Architect Remains L.A.'s Hottest Designer
Lauren Beale looks at the work of pioneering architect Paul Revere Williams, the first African American fellow of the American Institute of Architects, whose luxury homes designed for some of L.A.'s most prestigious residents remain in high demand.
America's Transportation Transformation Plays Out in Los Angeles
In the American city most synonymous with the automobile, car ownership is declining and transit use is increasing. As the country's transportation model enters a decade of profound change, L.A. may provide the 'ultimate test' of the car’s future.
Hollywood's Twin Towers Get a Haircut, But Will State Objections Block Final Approval?
Two towers set to transform Hollywood's skyline will alter it just a bit less after developer Millennium agreed to lower their proposed heights by more than a dozen stories. The CA Department of Transportation is raising concerns about the project.
Should Cities Eliminate Free Parking for the Disabled?
Ongoing research from the University of California Transportation Center documents the detrimental effects that free street parking for the disabled has on city coffers and performance pricing systems. Is it time to reconsider such laws.
New Downtown L.A. Park Latest Victory in Mayor's Open Space Initiative
At .7 acres, downtown L.A.'s Spring Street Park isn't likely to invite comparison to the world's great urban parks. But for a city, and neighborhood, starved of quality open space, the new park is a significant achievement.
Los Angeles Kicks Off Effort to Retool 67-Year-Old Zoning Code
This week, outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa kicked off an ambitious five-year effort to revise L.A.'s outdated and unwieldy zoning code. The goal of the project is to create an accessible guide for transforming Los Angeles.
Does Proposed Merger Signal Planning's Surrender in Los Angeles?
Rick Cole, former City Manager for the City of Ventura CA, analyzes the upcoming merger of the Department of City Planning with the Department of Building and Safety in the City of Los Angeles.
Ada Louise Huxtable Remembered at Metropolitan Museum of Art Tribute
Architects and architecture critics from across the nation gathered in New York last week to remember the first lady of architecture criticism, Ada Louise Huxtable, who died in January.
Westside Fights Smart Growth: Can Any Development Navigate L.A.'s Traffic Nightmare?
On the Westside of L.A., where rush hour traffic slows to a crawl on the best days, a proposed transit-oriented development called the 'quintessential example' of smart growth by the Mayor's staff faces opposition to its size and attraction to autos.
L.A. Bike Share Missing in Action; Is New City Ordinance to Blame?
Amid the hoopla over the recent launch of bike-share systems in two of the three largest cities in the U.S., the supposed start of such a system in the nation's second largest city has come and gone without any explanation. What's behind the delay?
A Transportation Wish List for L.A.'s New Mayor
While outgoing Mayor Villaraigosa has made great strides in building L.A.'s public transit and bicycle culture, there's still room for improvement, argues Harris Silver. He suggests 6 ways to further reduce Angelenos reliance on the automobile.
Auto Parkit: A Parking Revolution Comes to Urban America
Christopher Alan, founder of Auto Parkit, the only automated parking company in the US competitive with traditional parking, spoke with The Planning Report about how his experience as a real estate developer in LA led to a parking opportunity.
L.A. Plays Catch-Up to Big City Brethren With Debut of Bus-Only Lanes
One of Los Angeles's most congested corridors may have gotten a bit more congested this week - for autos that is - as the first segment of an eventual 12.5 miles of bus only lanes opened along Wilshire Boulevard.
Bypassing L.A.'s Fixation on Cars
In two new exhibits on Los Angeles's modern architectural history - part of the sprawling Pacific Standard Time Presents initiative - the city's infamous infatuation with the automobile is examined and then left behind in the rear-view mirror.
Removing the Obstacles to Infilling Los Angeles
City leaders from the Mayor on down recognize that infill development is necessary to create a more livable Los Angeles. So why does the public sector allow so many obstacles to stand in the way of small-scale development?
Is Frank Gehry Turning His Back on L.A. Architects?
Frank Gehry's "selfish" withdrawal from a planned exhibition on contemporary architecture in Los Angeles, part of a citywide reflection on the discipline's recent history, threatens to derail a debate the city "desperately needs", says Sam Lubell.
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
