California

High-Speed Rail

High-Speed Rail: What's Good for Texas Is Good for California

It's becoming clear that Texas will beat California to having the first all high-speed train on the continent. Ethan Elkind suggests three ways that success for Texas Central's Dallas-to-Houston line will benefit the struggling California project.

September 12, 2016 - Ethan Elkind

Venice Beach

Los Angeles Adds New Developer Fee to Pay for Parks

The city of Los Angeles has been improving its parks resources for several years, and a new funding mechanism should help continue that trend.

September 11, 2016 - KPCC

San Francisco

San Francisco Working on a New 'Subway Vision'

Planners in San Francisco have completed a public outreach process called Subway Vision. The goal is to create a framework for subway expansion in the city.

September 9, 2016 - KQED

Los Angeles Little Tokyo

4 Ideas for Overhauling the Los Angeles Department of City Planning

A tradition as old as the Planning Department itself: proposing reforms to the planning and development approvals process in the city of Los Angeles.

September 8, 2016 - Urbanize LA

Eastside Gold Line and Los Angeles skyline

L.A. Metro's Innovation Chief on the Appeal of P3s

The Office of Extraordinary Innovation at Los Angeles Metro is just over a year old. KPCC checks in.

September 7, 2016 - KPCC

Downtown Oakland

Oakland's Lack of Affordable Housing Declared 'Public Health Crisis'

There's a physical cost to rising rents, and Oakland residents are paying the price.

September 7, 2016 - SFGate

Ventura County

Urban Growth Boundaries Gone Awry: Protection Without Infill

Joe Mathews of Zócalo Public Square views with a great deal of skepticism the urban growth boundaries the voters of Ventura County adjacent to Los Angeles County have enacted since 1995 due to the lack of infill. Another measure is on the ballot.

September 7, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Traffic

Google to Launch Rideshare in Bay Area

The service would operate through Waze, and take a different approach than Uber or Lyft.

September 7, 2016 - Ars Technica

Del Mar Station TOD

Four Ways L.A. Metro Is Increasing Affordable Housing

A median-income family in the L.A. metro area spends 73 percent of their income on housing and transportation alone. L.A. Metro explains why and how they're taking huge steps to get affordable housing on land they own—where it will do the most good.

September 7, 2016 - Shelterforce/Rooflines

L.A. Live

Theme Park Urbanism

An op-ed rejects a notion of urbanism that would find a home in Disneyland, for a version of urbanism that deploys the best efficiencies and benefits of the built environment.

September 7, 2016 - Gerhard Mayer

Accessory Dwelling Unit

State Law Paves the Way for More Granny Flats in California

The state of California stepped into to make it easier for local governments to approve permissive regulations of accessory dwelling units.

September 6, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Over $14 Million Awarded to Eight Projects to Find Alternatives to Gas Taxes

The U.S. Department of Transportation is funding ways to transition from the gas tax to other user-based revenue mechanisms to fund transportation infrastructure. The federal gas tax hasn't keep pace with transportation expenditures since 2008.

September 6, 2016 - U.S. D.O.T. Press Release

Cupertino

White Flight Continues From Ethnoburbs Around the Country

As affluent whites have returned to more urban areas, some might think that white flight is a relic of the 20th century, but overwhelming evidence shows that white flight continues, just in a different place and time.

September 5, 2016 - Pacific Standard

Cap-and-Trade Bill Boosts California's Struggling Biomass Facilities

California's new rigorous renewable portfolio standard of 50 percent by 2030 will support a renewable energy source that serves the dual purpose of reducing forest fire hazards.

September 5, 2016 - Planetizen

California

Demographic Changes and Environmental Leadership in Sacramento

It has been a good year for environmentalists, but it hasn't come easily, as seen in the much-celebrated but delayed passage of SB 32 that continues the landmark emissions reductions first set in 2006. Joe Mathews explains the transitions underway.

September 4, 2016 - Zocalo Public Square

The Stitch

Planetizen Week in Review: September 3, 2016

Books! Maps! Data! Renderings! What more could you want from one week?

September 3, 2016 - Planetizen

BART Train

Serenity Now! BART Finds a Solution to Its Screeching Trains

BART trains have always made a lot of noise—impacting riders and the people who live along the regional system's routes. Now there's hope that the racket could be a thing of the past.

September 3, 2016 - Wired

Carpool Lane Sticker

Compromise Reached on $1.4 Billion in California Cap-and-Trade Proceeds

An earlier announcement awarded almost $400 million to transit agencies, but left a larger chunk of these funds still unsettled. On Wednesday, leaders agreed on a $900 million expenditure plan to cut emissions and address social concerns.

September 2, 2016 - Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. (California)

Los Angeles

Mapping L.A.'s Zoning Changes Finds Little Room for Upzoning

A new study makes a visual case against the narrative that spot zoning and a broken development approval process are running roughshod over the entire city.

September 2, 2016 - Urbanize LA

Banc of California Stadium

Los Angeles Wants to Use Housing Money to Boost MLS Soccer Stadium

Critics say the HUD program is meant to fund more direct anti-poverty measures, like affordable housing—not office, retail, and attractions.

September 1, 2016 - NextCity

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.