California

Friday Funny: Al Fresco on the Freeway
Fake news site The Onion imagines the logical result of car-centric planning during a pandemic.

L.A. Officials Wrestle With Future of Projects Approved in Corruption Case
Some high-profile projects, including a 77-story tower, hang in the balance of a federal corruption case, but it's unclear whether Los Angeles can undo the approvals, whether they were achieved through bribes or not.

Campaign Launched to Halt State Reopenings and Start Over
During March and April, most states shut down all but essential services in order to "flatten the curve," and it largely worked. What happened afterward didn't. U.S. PIRG has organized a campaign to start the process over and do it right.

Do You Know Your COVID-19 Colors?
Harvard University's Global Health Insititute and Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics have launched a new online tool for planners, policy makers, and the public to determine the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in one's county and state.

'Accessory Commercial Units' for a 15-Minute City
A Portland, Oregon urban planner is pitching the idea of ACUs, or accessory commercial units, as a means of repairing the effects of excluding retails uses from residential neighborhoods.

Growing Use of Trails Highlights the Work of Trail Planners
Trails have become very popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more about how trail planners in L.A. County plan for multi-use trails and promote the safe use of trails.

S.F. Rezoning Plan Paused for Equity Analysis
A plan to rezone parcels around the busy intersection of Market Street and Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, called the Hub, will undergo an analysis of the potential impacts of the plan on marginalized communities.

Community Planning Groups Scrutinized for Demographic Disparities in San Diego
Older, white homeowners take up far more than an equal share of the seats at the planning table in San Diego.

Plan Bay Area 2050 Draft Released
A regional plan for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area is available for public comment.

Plan to Save Caltrain Emerges
Elected officials in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties have produced a counter proposal after killing a proposed sales tax last week.

Growing Anti-Development Sentiment Kills Mixed-Use Proposal in East Bay City
The city of Dublin, located adjacent to the I-580/I-680 intersection in the East Bay Area, pulled the plug on a proposed mixed-use development that would have added apartments, senior houses, restaurants, and a theater to the quickly growing city.

ADU Business Booming in California
The number of Californians adding Accessory Dwelling Units to residential properties has quickly grown during the pandemic, according to industry sources.

How GIS Helps Plan Parks
With constrained budgets, a geographic information system (GIS) may seem like a luxury for parks agencies. But to perform data-driven planning and advance park equity, GIS is an indispensable tool.

Black Californians Leaving the City and Reshaping the State
Hundreds of thousands of Black Californians are moving away from urban areas, opting for the promise of abundance and opportunity offered by suburban communities, a trend referred to as "California's Black exodus."

Caltrain on the Rocks as Sales Tax Measure Fails
Advocates are concerned about the possibility of Caltrain entirely shutting down—less than a year after the commuter rail line seemed positioned for a massive expansion of service.

San Diego Planners Want to Reform Park Funding System
The San Diego Planning Department wants to change the system that currently funds improvements to public amenities, facing considerations about the implementation and legality of the proposed alternative.

Learning from Down Under
The governors of Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, and other states where COVID-19 infections are threatening to overwhelm hospitals should consider what their counterpart in Victoria, Australia, did on July 7 to contain the coronavirus.

Berkeley City Council Considers Relieving Police From Traffic Stop Duties
Unarmed public works officials could replace Berkeley Police officers in monitoring minor traffic violations pending approval of a proposal to be considered by the Berkeley City Council.

California Rolls Back
The nation's most significant rollback to date of a state reopening plan occurred Monday when California Gov. Gavin Newsom closed seven categories of indoor businesses statewide and an additional six categories of indoor operations in 31 counties.

Groundbreaking Affordable Housing and Homeless Shelter Project Underway in Berkeley
A new Berkeley development, the largest affordable housing development in city history, is slated to house 200 low-income and homeless residents by May 2022.
Pagination
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