California

Cruise Ship

California Proposal to Shelter Homeless on Cruise Ship

Oakland is looking at the possibility of housing homeless people in unconventional quarters.

December 19, 2019 - East Bay Times

Backpacking

Retail Apocalypse Blazes New Trails

The demise of a beloved outdoors gear chain in Southern California suggests that no store is safe in America's high-priced cities.

December 19, 2019 - California Planning & Development Report

Downtown Oakland

S.F. Bay Area Cooperative Offers New Affordable Housing Model

A California cooperative brings together investors to make homeownership more accessible and finance housing projects that help to slow gentrification.

December 18, 2019 - Next City

Bay Area Planner Accosted by Building Security

An extremely problematic encounter occurred last week when a black planner was accosted by security while taking photos of bike racks on the street outside of a luxury building.

December 18, 2019 - Curbed San Francisco

Fracking

Gov. Newsom's Phase-out of Oil Production Prompts Backlash in Kern County

Almost 80% of oil extraction in the nation's sixth largest oil-producing state occurs in Kern County. Supervisors see the California governor's climate plan to reduce oil production as a threat to the county's economic well-being.

December 17, 2019 - The Bakersfield Californian

Homeless Cars

The Homeless Working Poor

The Salinas Valley in California is an agricultural powerhouse, but homelessness and hunger abound. Finding affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult, even for people with jobs.

December 16, 2019 - The California Sunday Magazine

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

Navigating California's Housing Insanity

One person’s return to the San Francisco Bay Area meant facing the dystopian realities of the rental market.

December 16, 2019 - Harper's Magazine

Electric Car Charging Stencil

California Climate Program Offers Up to $9,500 Toward Purchase of Used EVs

Lawmakers want to ensure that electric vehicles are accessible to all Californians, particularly lower-income motorists in disadvantaged communities. Unlike other incentive programs, participants must also scrap an older, polluting vehicle.

December 14, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Bus Lane

Watch a New Bus-Only Lane in Action

The Streetfilms team visited to Los Angeles to check out the temporary bus-only lane on Flower Street for lessons in freeing buses from car traffic.

December 14, 2019 - Streetfilms via Vimeo

Oceanside

Public Opinion Souring on Housing in California

New survey data shows more Californians are considering leaving the state in response to skyrocketing housing prices.

December 13, 2019 - Public Policy Institute of California

Tesla

Elon Musk Takes the Cybertruck for a Spin in Malibu

Maybe this should be called a Friday WTF?

December 13, 2019 - Gizmodo

Mountain View, California

First Safe Parking Lot for the Homeless Opens in San Francisco

With more than 1,700 people living out of vehicles on the streets of San Francisco, the city is in the process of opening a new safe parking facility that woll allow 30 vehicles to park for up to 90 days.

December 12, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Los Angeles Architects

L.A. Architects Demonstrate Livable, Affordable, Scalable Density

Architects Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa discuss their new exhibit and the challenges to planning and building affordable, livable density in Southern California today.

December 12, 2019 - The Planning Report

Highway 101 California

Planning for Infill Growth Doesn't Guarantee Development: a Case Study

The city of Santa Rosa has made a concerted effort to plan for new development, but projects have yet to materialize.

December 11, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Hoover Dam Downstream

California's Use of the Colorado River Projected to Hit a Record Low

Water use is going down in California, and the state is leaving more of the Colorado River in the watershed, for now.

December 10, 2019 - John Fleck

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Light Rail Repair Project Falls Short of Promises in Los Angeles

The former Blue Line, now the A Line, with service from Log Beach to Los Angeles, was shut down in segments for ten months (originally scheduled for eight) for repairs. The weeks since the reopening have been marred spotty, slow service.

December 9, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

California State Water Project

New Oil and Gas Drilling in California May Be Subject to Moratorium

Gov. Gavin Newsom pleased environmentalists by doing what his predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown, refused – halting all new oil and gas fracking and placing a moratorium on another extraction method linked to a massive oil spill in Kern County.

December 9, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

gaslamp Quarter

San Diego Could Eliminate Height Limits Near Transit

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer is following up on an idea first pitched during a State of the City address, but with a few teaks.

December 9, 2019 - Voice of San Diego

Commuter Rail

New Train Station in North Bay Brings Commuters One Step Closer to S.F.

The new Larkspur Station on the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) system brings commuters much closer to a ferry across the bay.

December 8, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

On-Demand Shuttle

In Defense of Pilot Projects

An initial lack of success of transportation pilot projects isn't always an indicator of long-term viability in a rapidly shifting transportation landscape, according to this article.

December 7, 2019 - SPUR

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.