California
In Absence of Global Action, Regional Partnerships Pursue Cap-and-Trade
California Air Resources Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols signed an agreement with Australia to share policy on reducing green house gas emissions. The Planning Report presents the following transcript of her remarks at the signing.
New Report Aims to Help L.A.'s Urban Gardens Grow
A group of graduate planning student at UCLA have compiled the first comprehensive survey of urban agriculture in Los Angeles County, providing tools for planners and policy-makers to boost the area's agricultural fecundity.
Congressional Congestion Threatens L.A.'s Transit Projects
Could L.A.'s ambitious transit expansion plans become a victim of Congressional budget battles? The extension of the city's subway and downtown Regional Connector are among the projects funded by the Senate but neglected by the House.
Plan Bay Area: Sued From the Right, Now the Left
Plan Bay Area must be doing something right as it seems to be antagonizing those on both ends of the planning spectrum. First, a libertarian group sues because of "densification", and now environmentalists sue because not enough funds go for transit.
Welcome to California: CEQA Does Not Apply To CEQA
You know this could only happen in California: An appellate court has ruled that the California Environmental Quality Act does not apply to ... the California Environmental Quality Act. At least in this case.
Powering L.A.'s Future Without Breaking the Bank
Through determined investment, L.A. is on track to generate a third of its power from renewables by 2020. Varun Sivaram, formerly Mayor Villaraigosa's senior advisor on energy and water policy, explains how the city must modernize its power system.
Is Change By Another Name Still Gentrification?
Those investing in the largely Latino enclave of Boyle Heights prefer to use the term "gentefication" - a play on the Spanish word for people - rather than the pejorative gentrification, to describe their efforts to improve the L.A. neighborhood.
Court Ruling May Derail CA's High-Speed Rail Project
Unlike prior litigation based on environmental grounds, this suit, brought by a farmer, homeowner and the Kings County Board of Supervisors, is based on the rail project's business plan violating the bond measure the voters approved to fund it.
Mixed-Income Development to Replace Notorious L.A. Housing Project
A scheme to transform a Watts housing project with mixed-use development earned final approval from the L.A. City Council on Wednesday. Shops, town homes, and open spaces are to replace "one of the city's most poverty-stricken and violent areas."
The Great 'What If': Cities Engage the Unbuilt
A spirit of reflection seems to be in the air across America this summer. Exhibitions in Chicago, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles catalog major projects that were never built and allow visitors to imagine what might have been.
The Modernist Home: Born and Razed in L.A.
Andrew Romano explores the ironic fate of the modest mid-century home in the cradle of modernist residential design, where a hot housing market imperils their existence.
CA Redevelopment Bill: Communist Land Grab or Catalyst for Affordable Housing?
Amid political demagoguery, a bill to help spur infill redevelopment and the creation of affordable housing in California, following the dismantling the state's redevelopment agencies, is advancing through the California legislature.
More Hype on Hyperloop
LA Times' technology blogger Jon Healy takes a look at Elon Musk's Hyperloop, and after careful analysis, decides he'd bet on a proven, high-speed technology - the same one that inspired Musk to do an all-nighter to draft plans for an alternative.
San Francisco Gains Affluence and Loses Its Identity
The latest 'digital gold rush' has been a boost for the Bay Area's high earners, but a blow to its diversity and affordability. Conspicuous transportation modes - fleets of private buses and black town cars - epitomize the area's growing divide.
Community Gardening Program Feeds Those Hungry for Improving San Jose's Poor Neighborhoods
San Jose's Garden to Table program is just one of several initiatives led by CommUniverCity that are collectively giving disadvantaged residents the tools to improve their personal health and the health of their communities.
California Already Confronting ‘Significant’ Impacts of Climate Change
A new report by state scientists identifies three dozen environmental indicators that confirm the effects of climate change on California are ‘significant and growing.’
California Ushers in New Rail Age
A new rail age is dawning in California, thanks to high-speed rail; BART's impending "fleet of the future"; and more, says Projjal Dutta, director of sustainability at NYC's MTA. If successful, this will mean a major reduction of car use and sprawl.
Bay Area Bike Share Prepares for August 29 Launch
Dwarfed by its city counterparts, the Bay Area's 1,000 bikes will cover a larger region (5 cities in 3 counties) with fewer bikes, many placed at key transit nodes. It also distinguishes itself by being a 'pilot program' with multiple public owners.
Schedule Slippage Casts Doubts on CA High-Speed Rail
With fantasies of a Hyperloop suddenly offering a tantalizing, albeit far-fetched, alternative to the $68-billion project, CA's high-speed rail has apparently encountered more schedule slippage. The delay could cause more obstacles for the project.
Hyperloop = Hyperlame?
Last week we looked at the dangers of focusing on transportation fantasies. But alas, entrepreneur Elon Musk's vision for a "fifth form" of transportation is here and we just can't help ourselves.
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
