California
California’s Inheritance Tax Break Is Helping Some Much More Than Others
An inheritance tax benefit, along with Proposition 13, has resulted in lower tax rates passing down through generations and billions of dollars in lost tax revenue.
'Rebuilding California': Controversy Over Signs Telling People Their Tax Dollars Are at Work
Caltrans says signs on transportation projects are nothing more than a useful way to show taxpayers that gas tax funds are being put to good use. But not everyone agrees.
Family Money Boosts Chances of Homeownership for Californians
Buying a home in California is increasingly a matter of generational wealth.
Balloons and Straws: Where's the Connection?
Think "The Graduate," but now the emphasis in the future of plastics may be on restrictions. California may become the first state to restrict access to plastic straws, and balloons could be next due to the harm they cause the marine environment.
SUVs Sales Increase in California While Car Sales Drop—Except Those with Plugs
It's a classic paradox, observes David R. Baker for the San Francisco Chronicle: bigger, thirstier vehicles sell better than smaller, more efficient ones, while the market for battery-powered vehicles, especially Teslas, also increases.
Gabriel Metcalf Reflects On 20 Years Of Change In Bay Area
For over 20 years, few people have understood or influenced the Bay Area like Gabriel Metcalf, president of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research. Metcalf recently announced a move to Sydney, Australia, and reflected the past two decades.
Tenants in Rent Controlled Buildings in California to Gain EV Charging
An exemption to an existing law was removed Monday when Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that affords tenants in rent-controlled buildings the same right to request electric vehicle charging capability as renters in unregulated apartments.
Facebook Among Targets of HUD's Latest Round of Fair Housing Enforcement
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking on one big fish and a few little fish in the battle against housing discrimination.
Urban Design Professor Suspended for Harassment and Intimidation
The field planning and urban design has seen relatively little in the way of controversy or consequences since the #MeToo movement gained a foothold in the public consciousness. The status quo ended this week.
BART TOD Bill Advances Despite Opposition from East Bay Cities
Amidst fierce opposition from East Bay cities who want to control the destiny of BART parking lots in their jurisdictions, Assembly Bill 2923, which would partially preempt local land use authority, passed a critical committee last Thursday.
San Francisco Taking a Proactive Approach to Poop
The problem of feces in the public realm is rampant in San Francisco, so the city is launching a new "Poop Patrol."
Taste Buds Don't Lie: Recycled Water Tastes as Good as Bottled Water
We're talking about toilet to tap. There, we said it.
A Stroll With Los Angeles' Own 'People Walker'
A cartoon strip captures the essence of Chuck, the creator of The People Walker in Los Angeles.
Signatures Submitted for Initiative to Reform California Proposition 13
A coalition of groups advocating for more funding for local communities and schools want to reform the landmark tax-cutting initiative by treating commercial and industrial properties different than residential, creating the so-called "split roll."
Pilot Bike and Scooter Share Program Inspires Protest in Santa Monica
Bird and Lime launched their "Day Without A Scooter" protest this week.
Hollywood Welcomes Carbon Neutral Complex Amid Revitalization
Kilroy Realty Corp. has broken ground on Academy on Vine, a long-anticipated campus of offices, apartments, and stores in the heart of Hollywood.
Airport-Style Body Scanners Coming to L.A.'s Rail System
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be it the first in the country to deploy body scanners on its rail system.
Empowered Through Design: How a Purposefully Rudimentary Activity Sparks the Imagination
Memory can be an intensely powerful tool when planning for the future.
New Surveillance Technology Gathers Plenty of Data, but Who Has Access?
As new technology for data collection becomes available to police departments around the country, concerns grow about what is being collected and who has access.
California REITS Have Much at Stake on Election Day
One of the most controversial measures on the November 6 ballot in California is Prop. 10: the repeal of the landmark Costa-Hawkins Act that places limits on rent control. Real estate investment trusts are donating big time to defeat it.
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
