California
Where's The Treasure On SF's Treasure Island?
The jewels in a new proposal for San Francisco's Treasure Island remain hidden, writes urban design critic Morris Newman.
Base Reuse Can Get Tricky
Lennar, one of the nation's largest homebuilders, which recently purchased its fifth closed military base site in California, has met with opposition from many angles.
Leimert Park: L.A.'s Center Of Black Culture
The vibrant, central Los Angeles neighborhood -- which has been referred to as "the black Greenwich Village" -- is growing in popularity.
California Mired In Its Own Levee Crisis
Officials, in a stalemate, struggle to find money for repairs - despite rising warnings of failing levees.
Los Angeles Housing Department's Ambitious Agenda
The Los Angeles Housing Department and its director, Mercedes Marquez, take a thorough, systematic approach to protecting renters and helping find and develop properties for workforce housing.
L.A. Housing Speculators Moving Out
Housing peculators are taking their profits from Southern California and investing in hotter markets in Las Vegas and Arizona.
How Not To Rebuild California's Infrastructure
Three months ago Gov. Schwarzenegger announced a landmark $222 billion plan to invest in California's infrastructure. Yet the state legislature has dealt a blow to crumbling bridges and congested freeways by failing to agree on a bond measure to fund it.
Own Your Own Riverfront Town (Again)
Four years after becoming the first town to be sold on EBay, the 83-acre Bridgeville, California, population 24, is up for sale again, this time for $1.75 million. [Thanks to Kelly Koldus for the correction.]
Downtown L.A.'s Hot New Lofts Profiled
Los Angeles' downtown lofts used to be low-rent, bohemian spaces. A lot more than the rent has changed. Now there are "demi-lofts and soft lofts, new-construction lofts, condo lofts and townhouse lofts."
Should Iconic Architecture Become Housing?
Music giant EMI may sell the famous Capital Records building in Hollywood to a housing developer. Converting landmark corporate buildings to housing has become a trend in Southern California.
Would Market-Rate Housing Moratorium Slow Gentrification?
No, according to an op-ed in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, which lists alternative strategies for preserving affordable housing.
The Kids Of L.A.'s Skid Row
Hundreds of children are growing up in an area Police Chief Bratton refers to as the biggest social disaster in America.
Many California Bridges Not Reinforced For Quakes
Cities and counties across California have struggled to find money for reinforcing bridges to protect them during earthquakes.
Latino New Urbanism Comes To San Diego
Stacked wood and concrete frame boxes create new immigrant homes in a San Diego suburb. Squatter housing south of the border inspired Architect Teddy Cruz.
Housing Vs. Industry
As California's housing boom continues, finding sufficient land to enable businesses to expand is becoming increasingly challenging. The potential impacts on California's economy will be dramatic.
Property Grab At Hollywood's Hottest Intersection
It's not okay for government to evict property owners in the name of "over-reaching redevelopment," a Los Angeles Times editorial warns.
Moving Back To SoCal: Easier Said Than Done
Many Southern Californians find the grass isn't greener elsewhere, and the very housing market they cashed in on to finance an out-of-state move is now making a return back home much more difficult.
San Diego Adopts Smart Growth Plan For Downtown
In San Diego's new downtown plan, population would soar to 90,000 and employment to 170,000 in a smart growth scheme that includes many new parks and neighborhood centers.
'Interim Control Ordinance' Could Rein In Developers' Wild West
With few restrictions imposed by land use plans, northeast Los Angeles has been like the Wild West for developers. That may be about to change.
Owner's Rights Important In L.A.'s Community Garden Dispute
Los Angeles Times editorial supports property rights in a dispute between a landowner and a group that has created a sustainable community garden in Los Angeles' South Central area.
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
