California

Following up on a recent LA Times editorial arguing for a "citizens sidewalk brigade" to document the state of every one of the city's sidewalks, rather than a proposed $10 million three-year survey, columnist Steve Lopez registers his approval.

September 18, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Sam Lubell reports on the proposed designs for a new Sixth Street Viaduct in Los Angeles, which incorporate Angelenos' hopes for a more walkable and park-friendly future.

September 18, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper

From it's accidental creation due to an engineering oversight, its heyday in the 1950s as a resort area, to its decline and uncertain future, the unlikely story of the Salton Sea is an important chapter in the "Great American Water Wars".

September 17, 2012 - Wired

Matthew Yglesias reports on how Los Angeles is embracing its natural advantages to become an "ideal transit city," matching its transit investments with improvements to the built environment.

September 17, 2012 - Slate.com

With the possible entry of a fourth car sharing service into San Francisco, Daimler's Car2Go, the MTA must consider exemptions from the city's strict parking policies, specifically on-street parking in residential parking districts and metered zones.

September 17, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

A protest last week through downtown Los Angeles was meant to raise awareness of local activists' concerns that Los Angeles County Metro is displacing working class people and small businesses as it develops land adjacent to its stations.

September 17, 2012 - KPCC

Cities across America have been revitalizing their waterfronts for decades with new parks and development replacing heavy industry. But, a new breed of advocates is going one step further, and pushing for a time when people can just jump right in.

September 17, 2012 - Salon

A city law enacted in 2006 was intended to protect San Francisco's independent stores from the spread of chain - or 'formula' - stores. Stacy Mitchell explains the gaps in the current law and the efforts of one city Supervisor to tighten it.

September 15, 2012 - Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Scientists have created sounds from air pollution data that allow listeners to hear the striking differences and similarities between the air we breathe in America's most polluted city and remote pine forests.

September 13, 2012 - The Atlantic

"It's like the gardener's version of graffiti," says one. In San Francisco, activists hope to transform once-purely ornamental street trees into fruit-bearing ones, to provide fresh fruit to the local community.

September 13, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

William Heisel kicks of a series examining the infectious disease more common than AIDS, hepatitis, or Lyme disease. What environmental elements are contributing to its spread and what can planners and public health officials do to respond?

September 12, 2012 - Reporting on Health

As the L.A. City Council prepares to consider final approval for a proposed downtown football stadium and renovated convention center, Jim Newton ponders to what extent community groups will be able to leverage the fast-tracked approvals process.

September 12, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Continuing to chronicle what he sees as an 'urban migration' from suburban office parks, Richard Florida provides the Bay Area illustration of this movement, as he sees the center of Silicon Valley heading to San Francisco from Santa Clara County.

September 12, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

While the housing crash may have temporarily halted the dramatic growth in downtown LA's residential sector, new retail and restaurant openings continued. Now, as the housing market recovers, developers are clawing to get back to building residences.

September 12, 2012 - Los Angeles Downtown News

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. The "first in a new generation of American rail systems" when it was built, BART now faces the challenges of declining health and keeping up with the times.

September 11, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

It's a mere 12 units but a huge test for apartments with no auto parking but plenty of bike parking. The 5-story, mixed-use Mission District building was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission on Sept. 6 despite neighborhood opposition.

September 11, 2012 - Streetsblog San Francisco

California's Central Valley was one of the areas hardest hit by the Great Recession, with several of its cities still burdened by the worst unemployment rates in the country. Signs in Bakersfield, however, point to a burgeoning boom.

September 11, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

The recent bankruptcy of the California city of Mammoth Lakes - brought on by a $43 million court decision in favor of a developer - is an extreme example of the cost of land use disputes. But it's indicative of a widespread problem in the state.

September 10, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

With the number of days of 'extreme heat' on the rise, and dramatic increases projected, will global warming melt the Golden State?

September 8, 2012 - Grist

If Gov. Jerry Brown signs AB 2245, a bill which will exempt bike lanes from the CA Environmental Quality Act until 2018, opponents of these lanes will be deprived of a major tool to delay these projects that may accompany controversial 'road diets'.

September 8, 2012 - Streetsblog San Francisco