The Wall Street Journal's obsession with planning in California continued this past weekend, as they asked Joel Kotkin, demographer and "Truman Democrat", to discuss what he believes is driving "the great California exodus".
Adding to the recent back and forth, instigated by Wendell Cox, over California's efforts to contain sprawl and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the state, the Journal's Allysia Finley asks Joel Kotkin to weigh in.
Making clear the paper's editorial position on the state, Finley, the assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com and a Journal editorial page writer, frames her discussion with Kotkin as such:
"Now, however, the Golden State's fastest-growing entity is government and its biggest product is red tape. The first thing that comes to many American minds when you mention California isn't Hollywood or tanned girls on a beach, but Greece. Many progressives in California take that as a compliment since Greeks are ostensibly happier. But as Mr. Kotkin notes, Californians are increasingly pursuing happiness elsewhere."
The incendiary remarks don't stop there:
"And things will only get worse in the coming years as Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and his green cadre implement their 'smart growth' plans to cram the proletariat into high-density housing. 'What I find reprehensible beyond belief is that the people pushing [high-density housing] themselves live in single-family homes and often drive very fancy cars, but want everyone else to live like my grandmother did in Brownsville in Brooklyn in the 1920s,' Mr. Kotkin declares."
"'The new regime'-his [Kotkin's] name for progressive apparatchiks who run California's government-'wants to destroy the essential reason why people move to California in order to protect their own lifestyles.'"
Thanks to Daniel Lippman
FULL STORY: Joel Kotkin: The Great California Exodus

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie