California

A Decade-Plus in the Making—Transit Village Comes to a Posh Bay Area Suburb
The city of Walnut Creek, located in the East San Francisco Bay Area, will soon gain 600 new, transit-adjacent apartments and a whole lot of parking.

L.A. Olympic Organizers Say CEQA Exemption Isn't Necessary to Streamline Transit Projects
The strange world projects exempted from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act got a little stranger this week.

The Changing Paradigm of Stormwater Management
In the past, stormwater management has been about flood control. The future of stormwater, however, is in capturing, treating, and recharging water supply, according to this article.

Connecting the Dots Between Air Pollution and Congestion
Some of the San Francisco neighborhoods with the worst air quality are also the San Francisco neighborhoods with the most development.

NASA Wants to Build 1,930 Rental Units in the Silicon Valley
NASA Ames wants to add a lot of housing to a 45-acre site at Moffett Field in the Silicon Valley. The new housing would give NASA employees more housing options in an expensive and impacted market.

Houston and San Francisco: Urban Development Patterns Gone Awry
With the media rightfully pointing to Houston's sprawling urban development patterns that exacerbated the epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, Paul Krugman also finds fault with cities where urban development is too tightly regulated.
Oregon Launches EV Rebates Funded by Auto Sales Tax
Oregon is one of five states that has no sales tax, but that will change on January 1, with Gov. Kate Brown's signature on a landmark transportation funding bill that applies a half-cent sales tax to auto sales and increases gas taxes by 10 cents.
California's Low Unemployment Hides High Levels of Poverty
Because of its high cost of living, California has the nation's highest poverty level, according to the U.S. Census.

White Communities in the Bay Area Don't Plan as Much Low-Income Housing as Their Neighbors Do
Goals for low-income housing were lower in majority white cities and communities than they were in their more diverse neighbors.

The Unequal Distribution of Public Housing Across Los Angeles
KPCC has published an interactive map showing the publicly funded affordable housing developments in Los Angeles County.

U.S. Drivers Continue Mileage Increase for Sixth Consecutive Year
Americans have increased their driving every year since 2011, and the first six months of 2017 were no different, increasing 1.6 percent compared to last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Highway Administration.

Where BART's New Extension to the Fringe Went Wrong
This story begins and ends with a freeway.

How Much Is Too Much for a State Electric Vehicle Rebate?
Battery electric vehicles (without gas tanks) are eligible for a $2,500 California rebate, on top of the federal $7,500 tax credit. A bill before the state Senate would quadruple it.
The End of Redevelopment Worsened California's Housing Crisis
Anthony York performs an autopsy of how decisions made by Governor Jerry Brown and the California Legislature during the Great Recession are influencing the housing market, nearly a decade later.
Nation's First All-Electric Bus Route Launches in Stockton, California
A city once infamous for municipal bankruptcy is now setting a standard for public transit technology.

Housing, Transit Crunches Collide in the Bay Area
The New York Times explores the Bay Area housing crisis through one woman’s three-hour commute.
New Bay Area Commuter Rail Service Begins Today
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train is set to start service Friday, running between Sonoma and Marin Counties in the Bay Area. Future extensions are planned that to take it to Larkspur for ferry service to San Francisco.

Elon Musk Cleared to Tunnel in Southern California
Elon Musk will get a first chance to prove predictions that the Boring Company can improve tunneling technology after the city of Hawthorne in Los Angeles County approved his plan to build a two-mile tunnel.

Too Much Driving is Spoiling California's Emissions Report Card
A new economics report from Beacon Economics for Next 10 shows that what good for the environment is good for the state's economy, but the results are marred by increasing vehicle-miles-traveled. The state's housing crisis is partly to blame.

Southern California City Halts All Mixed-Use Construction
Redondo Beach, located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, is responding to public outcry by halting all mixed-use projects in the city. Meanwhile, an advisory committee is working on the city's first new General Plan in 25 years.
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EMC Planning Group, Inc.
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Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service