The Planning Report

An op-ed by Los Angeles County Supervisor criticizes the Grade Crossing Policy employed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the recent approval of a light rail extension.

With Congress mired in the health care debate, legislation critical to rebuilding communities, such as ACES and the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Bill, languish. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) details the political climate in D.C.

The CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority details the feast or famine of transportation planning in Southern California in 2010: budgets are being slashed while a new sales tax and federal stimulus go online.

A group of industry and policy leaders discuss the current state of the technology and infrastructure that will drive change for the auto industry.

The L.A. City Planning Commission president and architect, Bill Roschen, talks about how the commission is implementing clear and consistent policies toward their goal of "Doing Real Planning" in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Conservancy has been building a coalition to preserve the Century Plaza Hotel after developers announced plans to replace the hotel with new mixed use development.

More than 30 cities and counties in California have passed some form of a ban on the use of polystyrene containers, and a new state law under consideration, AB 1358, would ban the use of polystyrene foam and non-recyclable food containers statewide.

Already a national leader in green building and looking to expand its leadership, the Los Angeles Community College District is launching several collaborative efforts to train a new, green workforce.

Two representatives of a committee charged with implementing reductions in VMT to meet California's SB 375 goals discuss the challenges.

Water Lawyer Michael George details the causes and effects of the current California drought, and sees hope that pinched water supplies may drive innovation and collaboration in building sustainable water systems in the West.

With a budget proposal that threatens to close 80 percent of California state parks on the table, Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, explains how the state's budget crisis left the SMMC "dead in the water."

Cities struck by the foreclosure crisis are implementing a number of measures to help prevent foreclosures and stabilize neighborhoods already racked by vacancies.

A recent panel at the VerdeXchange Conference in Los Angeles featuring discussion by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) and former Speaker of the California Assembly Robert Hertzberg on the state's role in influencing federal climate change legislation.

Ventura, CA, City Manager Rick Cole Op-ed argues for a comprehensive paradigm shift in the real estate and development industries.

Apropos to the debates dominating the G20 conference in London, former U.S. Trade Rep and Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor argues for trade as the centerpiece of economic and environmental sustainability.

An exit interview with Tom Graff, who joined Environmental Defense Fund in 1971, when the environmental movement was just getting started.

At a recent event in Los Angeles, Cecilia Estolano, CEO of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, presented her vision for the Downtown of the future in one of the country's most notoriously diffuse urban centers.

Ron Loveridge, the mayor of the Inland Empire's largest city, Riverside, details how regional and local leaders are working to recover from the effects of the foreclosure crisis.

Kevin Fry, president of Scenic America, explains the threat to the urban fabric posed by lax billboard policies. He also explains how cities can avoid L.A.'s problems enforcing outdoor advertising codes.

Author Paul Sorensen details the findings of a recent RAND study recommending short term (i.e., within five years) fixes for rampant congestion in Southern California.