California
No Reckless Walking on the Tracks!
Officials are trying to regulate jaywalking of the residents of East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights about reckless walking and driving on the tracks.
Neighbors Team Up To Build Community Garden
Residents in an Oxnard neighborhood install a community garden which will provide them with fruits and vegetables.
Riding the Rails to CNU
A contingent of California New Urbanists arranged a special trip on Amtrak's California Zephyr in two vintage railcars to the Congress for New Urbanism in Denver. High-level discussion ensued.
How Difficult is Consensus?
The Los Angeles City Planning Commission delayed a vote on several proposed amendments to the city's cultural heritage ordinance because of a lack of consensus among the speakers.
California Drying Up
Climate models show that California -- the source of one third of America's food supply -- is running out of its reliable water supply.
Toughest Recyclers In the West (Or Anywhere)?
The city of San Francisco approves a plan to require composting and recycling citywide by this fall, with fines kicking in within two years.
Express Lanes And Transit Headed To LA Freeways
The largest recipient of the U.S. DOT 2008 Urban Partnership Agreement are two freeways in LA County where carpool lanes will be converted to Express Lanes with dynamic pricing with additional, clean fuel buses, all funded by the $210 million grant.
Horse Tracks Place Bets On Infill Redevelopment
Several horse racing tracks in California have suffered declining revenues and are being redeveloped, with speculation about more closures on the way.
Hundreds of S.F. Transit Stops To Be Eliminated
Municipal Railway officials in San Francisco recently unveiled a proposal to remove a certain amount of bus and street car stops.
Economic Benefits of Urban Creek Cleaning
Restorationists and environmentalists are placing their focus on urban streams and creeks, which struggle with urban pollution. Working to clean them up is turning out to be a good way to create jobs and stimulate the local economy.
Friday Funny: Elected to the House, But Abandoned Her Own
Congresswoman Laura Richardson has gotten on the nerves of her Sacramento neighbors, mainly because she's never around. As a result, her home has gone untended and turned into a blight on the neighborhood.
California's Classrooms Going Green
With what some are calling the worst classroom conditions in the nation, California is trying to solve the problem by replacing all of its portable classrooms with green buildings.
Handling Growth in the Bay Area
A roundtable discussion on the projected growth in the Bay Area of California, and the planning tools being unveiled that will help mitigate the projected increase of an additional 2 million inhabitants to the region by 2035.
Nearly Car-free Housing Development: A Radical Experiment
Hayward, which is an East Bay suburb of San Francisco, has laid the groundwork for a nearly car-free housing development for environmentally conscious living.
City Twitters
The City of Santee is using Twitter and Facebook to protest a planned prison expansion on nearby county land.
Caltrain: Fees Raised, Service Cut
Caltrain officials are planning to cut midday service by half, raise parking fees by 50 percent, and charge more for the monthly Go Pass.
Reductions in Vehicle Miles Traveled a Slow, Difficult Process
Two representatives of a committee charged with implementing reductions in VMT to meet California's SB 375 goals discuss the challenges.
Biden Plugs CA High-Speed Rail For Funding
Notwithstanding a $24.3 billion state budget deficit, CA is well-positioned to receive at least 10% of the Recovery Act funding for high speed rail, says Biden. Two corridors in southern and northern CA have been identified for funding.
Roadmap for a Sustainable Car Industry
John DeCicco, senior fellow for automotive strategies at the Environmental Defense Fund, and author of the Green Book--a rating system for the environmental impact of cars--talks about the regulatory reforms necessary for the car industry.
Friday Funny: Puppets Impede Public Process
There was much ado at a recent L.A. City Council meeting when a group opposing a new 7-story development was allowed to speak after the project had been approved. It also appears the public speakers were cut short by a puppet show.
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
