California
Held Up by Environmental Litigation, Playa Vista Finally Gets Its Own Downtown
After a hard-won legal battle, Los Angeles' youngest coastal community can finally begin construction on its mixed-use downtown, report Roger Vincent and Martha Groves.
High-Speed Rail's Cap & Trade Gamble
While the revised business plan did shave off $30 billion, there remains a $55 billion funding shortfall. Dependent on federal and private funds that may never appear, could revenue from the sale of carbon credits bridge the funding gap?
Downtown LA Stadium Developers Release 10,000 Page EIR
David Zahniser and Ari Bloomekatz report on yesterday's release of the EIR for a proposed $1 billion football stadium in downtown LA, by developer AEG, which intends to take significant steps to encourage event-goers to use mass transit.
Is a Denser Future Best for Los Angeles?
Inspired by the controversial new Community Plan for Hollywood, The New York Times has invited six debaters to its opinion pages to offer their views on whether Los Angeles should "New Yorkify".
Monumental Regional Plan for Southern California Gets Final Approval
As the largest council of governments in the country adopts a $525 billion transportation and land use plan for the next two decades, Josh Stephens marks the beginning of Southern California's age of climate-friendly, smart-growth regionalism.
Bay Area's Population Problem: More Out Than In
More people leave the 9-county region than migrate there from other states. In fact, the population would be in decline if it wasn't for foreign migration. Notably missing from the report on Census data is the birth rate for the region.
Snapping Up Foreclosures on a Whole New Scale
A California real estate group aims to capitalize on cheap foreclosures, collecting homes en masse thanks to a semi-automated decisionmaking system.
Tracking Los Angeles' Racial Geography, 1990 - 2010
From black flight to Asian invasion, Mark Wilson offers his take on a stunning map that lays out the changing demography of Los Angeles.
The Ordinance Behind the Rebirth of Downtown LA
For the latest in a series on the laws that shaped Los Angeles, KCET's Jeremy Rosenberg examines 1999's Adaptive Reuse Ordinance, which made possible downtown's wave of condo conversion projects.
California Redefines Density
Census data reveals that California is the most urbanized state, with the most dense urban areas. But in California, sprawl, density, crowding, and urbanism are not always what they seem. Fortunately, a new law may help planners make sense of it all.
As It Turns 100, MUNI Showing Its Age
On the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency's (MUNI) centennial birthday, Zusha Elinson reports on the sad fact that service is slower than it was when it began 100 years ago.
A Precipitous Price Drop for California's High-Speed Rail
Knowing that a $100 billion project stood a poor chance of passing muster in a budget-conscious state legislature, Gov. Jerry Brown shaved off $30 billion by using a "blended rail" strategy in the Bay Area and South Coast, i.e. sharing tracks.
Public Water Works! to Grow Jobs, Protect the Environment
With a $600 billion investment gap facing the tap, citizens, organizations, and elected officials call for a renewed commitment to protect access to safe drinking water on World Water Day at Los Angeles City Hall.
Hollywood Freeway Cap Park Gets Boost From LaHood
Kate DeFronzo reports that an ambitious 44-acre freeway cap park envisioned for Hollywood took an important step towards reality last week, with the blessing of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Historic Agreement Reached To Fund Caltrain Electrification
An agreement has been reached to electrify Caltrain from San Jose to San Francisco, using early investment High-Speed Rail funds, but will Bay Area HSR opponents take notice?
Controversial Plan for Hollywood Moves Closer to Approval
A controversial new community plan for Hollywood made it's first appearance before City Council members this week. James Brasuell was on hand to capture the drama.
The Pivotal Parallels of Water and Energy
Nate Berg examines the nexus between water use and energy use, and the need to bring this frequently overlooked connection to the attention of planners and designers.
San Francisco's Battle With Mother Nature
As climate change accelerates coastal erosion across the continent, officials everywhere look to San Francisco to see how it will stem the tide, Felicity Barringer reports.
Taking Measure of LA's Westside Subway Project
Yonah Freemark assesses one of the nation's most important public transportation improvement projects, LA's long discussed Westside Subway project which is closer than ever to construction, but still a long ways off from completion.
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
