Los Angeles

A judge has ruled against parts of SB 1818, a density bonus law that allows taller building limits in exchange for affordable housing units.

This article from USA Today looks at the growth of green alleys in the U.S.

Los Angeles has begun using its $33 million in funds from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to jumpstart neighborhoods blighted by foreclosure. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan visited a South Los Angeles neighborhood Wednesday.

Certain parts of the city generate "buzz" -- through events, parties, or other attractions. Just how much buzz they create is hard to nail down. But a new study focusing on L.A. and New York seeks to quantify the cool factor that makes places pop.

A citywide documentation project is underway in Los Angeles, where planners and preservationists (and the public) are documenting the city's important historic and cultural sites.

Nicolai Ouroussof uses four cities--New Orleans, Los Angeles, The Bronx, and Buffalo--as case studies on how America's urban areas, long neglected, can once again be great.

Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture critic for The New York Times, argues that the time is right for a new vision of rebirth for America's ailing cities. He applies this new vision to the challenges of New Orleans, Los Angeles, the Bronx, and Buffalo.

L.A. is boiling with billboard drama right now. Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne looks at the debate and argues that signage can have a positive role in the urban landscape.

The same judge who decided that banning outdoor ads is unconstitutional has rule that the city of Los Angeles acted unlawfully in denying an outdoor advertiser new permits. The city began trying to eradicate billboards and giant ads in 2002.

As the city and activists work to control giant 'supergraphics' posted without permits around the city, the largest poster of posters attempts to claim that it's a free speech issue. His Statue of Liberty banners can be seen across L.A.

The revitalization of downtown Los Angeles took another hit this week, as real estate firm Meruleo Maddox Properties Inc., the largest private landowner in the area, revealed that it may have to file for bankruptcy protection.

According to architecture critic Chris Hawthorne, Downtown Los Angeles' Civic Park does nothing in the way of creating its own identity. Instead, it neglects its image as a whole by being too fixated on its "aesthetic responsibility."

Developers have released plans for a mixed use retail project to replace a horse racing track, a proposal that would be one of the largest redevelopment projects in the region.

Officials in Southern California cities that had hoped to trade off their share of federal stimulus funds for transportation projects to other cities have been denied by Congress, which is calling on municipalities to use the money as intended.

As part of a larger series, NY Times guest blogger Eric A Morris talks about traffic in LA, and how the city's structure affects ease of transportation.

Some cities in Los Angeles were caught cutting deals to sell shares of their federal stimulus funds to the highest bidder. The MTA has put the kibosh on any money swapping.

Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne offers three pieces of advice to recently re-elected L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for improving his city -- and his urban planning credibility.

Forbes has released its list of the most congested cities in America. Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and Washington D.C. top the list.

The Los Angeles suburb of Industry has approved plans to build a stadium in the city in hopes of luring a football team back to the L.A. area.