California

San Francisco Gets Lavish Urban Amenity—For Free
The new, privately financed Chase Center arena was designed with San Francisco's tech wealth in mind. It's a handsome addition to the Mission Bay neighborhood but pulls the Bay Area further away from its blue collar roots.

What California Can Learn from France About Tackling a Housing Crisis
As California continues to grapple with staggering housing issues, France's experience offers lessons about the kinds of housing policies and strategies that work.

Los Angeles Needs New Funding Sources to Meet Public Transit Ambitions
With an aggressive plan to build out numerous public transit lines in time for the 2028 Olympics, local officials are scrambling to fill funding gaps as prices continue to rise and catch planners and officials by surprise.

More Toll Lanes Coming to California Freeways
Solo drivers in the Golden State will have more options to escape traffic congestion on busy freeways – for a price, as transportation agencies increasing decide to convert existing carpool lanes to high-occupancy toll lanes and add new ones.

Los Angles Considering Electric Vehicle Requirement for Ride-Hailing Vehicles
Ambitious talk from the mayor of Los Angeles.

Why Is It Taking So Long for California's Population to Reach 40 Million?
It was thought that California's population would reach 40 million two summers ago, but growth continues to slow, setting records. Net migration, which includes domestic and international movement, was negative for the first time since 2010.

Modest Densification, a Strategy to Alleviate the Housing Crisis?
Incremental changes to density on single-family parcels could boost the nation’s housing stock without dramatic impacts at the neighborhood level.

New California Accessory Dwelling Unit Laws Take Effect Today
New state legislation will kick in at the start of the new year easing restrictions on ADUs.

East Coast Considers Plan to Hike Gas Prices to Mitigate Climate Change
Will a dozen East Coast states and D.C. agree to a regional plan that would likely hike gas prices through a "cap-and-invest" program to mitigate tailpipe emissions similar to what California has done for the last five years?

The Ongoing Debate Over California's Eucalyptus Trees
The eucalyptus is an exotic species in California, and studies suggest it has contributed to an increase in wildfire hazards. But defenders of the trees say the eucalyptus is just an ecological scapegoat.

San Diego Smart City Sensors Causing Controversy
Thousands of streetlight sensors are collecting a trove of data—from traffic counts to humidity levels—and advocacy groups say the city needs to be more transparent about how the data is being used and who has access to it.

Amid Opposition, S.F. Homeless Navigation Center Completed
A new facility providing shelter and services to San Francisco’s homeless will open this month, even after a year of community pushback.

HUD's Latest Homeless Report Counts Increasing Homelessness
The federal government blamed California for the increasing number of people living in homelessness in the United States.

California Clears the Way for Autonomous Delivery Vehicles
Safety driver not included.

San Diego Residents Could Vote to Expand Ballot Box Planning Powers
The March ballot in San Diego County will ask voters to make big decisions about planning and development on the fringes of the developed parts of the county.

People Over Cars: The Future of San Francisco
The San Bruno Avenue Multimodal Improvement Project moved forward in San Francisco despite local resistance. The planning and political calculus behind the project is a sign of more to come in the City by the Bay.
Green Hydrogen, Plus Storage, Key to Los Angeles' Plan for Carbon-Free Electricity
The Los Angeles municipal utility will convert a Utah coal power plant to run on natural gas in 2025. According to a proposal unveiled Dec. 10, the plant will incrementally be converted to run entirely on hydrogen, a zero-emission fuel, by 2045.

Life Inside a Sprawling Homeless Camp
Two New York Times reporters spent three months in the High Street Camp, a homeless community of 100 people in Oakland, California.

Affordable Housing Required for Development on L.A. City Properties
The Los Angeles City Council has approved a rule that residential buildings on city property will have to be 100 percent affordable.

Colorado River Cutback Plan to Start in January
States in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River will contribute more water in order to keep reservoirs from reaching critically low levels.
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