California

L.A. Voters Approved Parks Funding—Now What?
An overview of the projects in the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation pipeline, by L.A. County park planner Clement Lau.

Friday Eye Candy: Renderings for the New Star Wars Theme Park
Fans of Disney theme parks and fans of Star Wars had a big week.

A First Look at Big Bus Rapid Transit Plans in Los Angeles
A proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) route for Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles was approved in Measure M, the transportation sales tax approved by L.A. County voters in November.

Los Angeles Bans Sleeping in Cars
Critics of new regulations by the city of Los Angeles that ban sleeping in cars and RVs overnight say the new restrictions amount to a ban on homeless people.

Public Space Offering Surprising Lessons While Hosting Trump Protests
Christopher Hawthorne examines the unprecedented protests of the Women's March and the more recent airport protests for lessons in the understanding and appreciation of public space.

California Stuck With an Expensive Overabundance of Energy Facilities
The Los Angeles Times uncovers a state with a lot more energy that it needs, which has regulators explaining their decisions residents and businesses opening their wallets.

SoCal's Gold Line Extension Delayed Two Years
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) planned Gold Line extension is now scheduled to finish construction in 2025.

Nation's First Transgender Cultural Historic District Coming to San Francisco
Developers will fund the Compton's Cafeteria Transgender, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual District to quell opposition to a proposed mixed-use development in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.

Oakland's Telegraph Avenue: A Resounding Example of Street Redesign Success
Oakland's Telegraph Avenue underwent a dramatic reconfiguration in April 2016. Since then traffic collisions have declined and walking and biking is way up.

Lessons in Brownfields: Phase One Report Reform Ain't Working
This second of a series on brownfield remediation and development is a funny and sarcastic primer about the process and its failures. Written by Environmental attorney Richard Opper.

State-Level Decarbonization Lags Behind
With Donald Trump in office, the struggle against climate change may be up to the states. But are even the greenest states doing enough, especially as they continue shuttering nuclear plants?

Why More than 100 Million Trees Have Died in the Sierra Nevada
Though the drought is ending in much of California, it's too late for the million's of trees that have died due to the ravages of recent water shortages.

California Transport Bill Doesn't Support Public Transit as Much as it Could
California State Senators, Ben Allen and Scott Wiener, say California transportation funding bills don't spend enough of their budget on public transit.

A Community Planning Process—Even a Good One—Is Not Enough
Simply inviting residents to participate in design charrettes or a community planning process does not mitigate the significant loss they feel as they witness the physical destruction of their homes and lived history.

Tech Solutions to Planning’s Participation Problems
Santa Monica is testing out a 'Tinder-like' application for approving or disapproving of developments.
Pasadena Urged to Purge Poison Pills from ADU Reform Ordinance
Pasadena is adopting accessory dwelling unit (ADU) reform in response to state legislation designed to spur affordable housing options by easing restrictions on ADUs. But is it really entrenchment dressed as reform?

Preserving the Character of Little Tokyo
In the wake of rapid gentrification, an organization in Los Angeles is leveraging the arts to celebrate a community's rich heritage and keep social equity a priority.
An Obstacle to Density Desperately Needs Reform
With the loss of redevelopment in California, money for brownfield remediation has dried up. The California Legislature needs to focus on regulatory reform to support brownfield redevelopment, according to environmental attorney Richard Opper.

Rents Dropping in Every Corner of the San Francisco Bay Area
Housing prices are still well above the national average in the Bay Area, but some relief at least, has emerged in recent months.

Political Fallout from SF Muni's 'NextBus' Meltdown
The NextBus system, which predicts arrival times for San Francisco's buses and trains, has been unusable for four weeks.
Pagination
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