California
If You're NIMBY, You Aren't Green
Environmentalists in Berkeley and Oakland are realizing that the inner-city development they protested in the past is actually more eco-friendly than the alternative.
Think You Can Balance California's Budget?
The Los Angeles Times has created an interactive game where you can make the hard choices in where to cut the State's expenditures.
Bid to Build Museum in San Francisco's Historic Presidio Dropped
A controversial effort to develop a modern art museum in San Francisco's Presidio has come to an end.
Women Close To Freeway 128% More Likely To Give Birth Prematurely
A new study from UC Irvine in Los Angeles concludes that women who live within 1.9 miles of a major roadway increase their risk of premature birth by 128%.
EPA OKs California's Plan to Regulate Emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency has reversed a decision by the Bush Administration that will allow California to create its own set of vehicle emissions standards.
Bike Activist Becomes The Man
What happens when a city hires a former bike activist to become it's mobility coordinator? No surprises, the city becomes more bike friendly.
Ownership of Bus Arrival Data Disputed
The story of how an iPhone application charting public transit arrival times led to as-yet-unanswered questions about who owns this public data -- or whether it can be owned at all.
City Styrofoam Bans Send Food Packaging Industry Scrambling
More than 30 cities and counties in California have passed some form of a ban on the use of polystyrene containers, and a new state law under consideration, AB 1358, would ban the use of polystyrene foam and non-recyclable food containers statewide.
BART Looking at Vendors to Boost Revenues
The San Francisco Bay Area's BART regional transit system is considering a plan to expand the amount of retailers and vendors it allows within its stations as a way to boost revenue.
New Concepts in Housing
At the PCBC builder's conference in San Francisco, the award-winning designs were 'smaller, greener, more urban and more affordable.'
Bike Arcing
A new system of bike storage debuts in Palo Alto and Redwood City, CA next week. The Bike Arc aims to be more elegant and space-saving than the standard U-shaped rack.
Getting Solar Power Rolling
This profile from Miller-McCune looks at a Berkeley, California official who made use of a 100-year old funding mechanism to take the city solar.
Fake Parking Signs Posted by Frustrated Stadium Neighbors
Neighbors of Dodger Stadium who are frustrated over game-day traffic and a lack of parking are trying to deal with the hordes of baseball fans by erecting fake signs.
Meter Maids Get New Tool
A new technology in use in Sacramento, CA snaps pics of cars' tires and compares them on the next sweep, increasing the number of time violators caught.
Bike Plan Booed
The Los Angeles City Council's Transportation Committee revealed its new proposed bicycle plan on Weds. to a packed house and a chorus of boos.
Going to the Races
Locals are concerned that a real estate development approved to replace Hollywood Park, one of California's few remaining thoroughbred racetracks, will be underused in this housing crisis.
Locking Trash Bins to Thwart Scavengers
Residents of Santa Ana neighborhood are locking up their trash bins, hoping to eliminate the noise and trouble brought by scavengers.
Masterplanning the Architecture of the Near Future
As the population rises, underused and empty spaces are going to fill in. How well the transition works depends on shifts in demographics and infrastructure, as well as architecture. A studio of UCLA architecture students were asked to plot that transition. But before they could be architects, they had to be planners.
Return of the Pedicab
The City of Los Angeles is writing a proposal to bring pedicabs back to the streets.
"Grow Smart Bay Area" Report Released
With great fanfare, the Bay Area's Greenbelt Alliance has released a new report, "Grow Smart Bay Area", the premise being that future population and job growth can be accommodated by infill and by doing so, will add to the region's sustainability.
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
