Los Angeles Times

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.

Ypsilanti, Michigan, has been a GM factory town for more than 50 years. With the recent ouster of GM CEO Rick Wagoner by the federal government, many in the oft-shaken town are worried about its future.

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.

California wants solar and wind power, but just where it goes is rife with controversy. Senator Dianne Feinstein is coming out against plans to build huge solar and wind farms in sensitive desert areas.

Tata Motors of India released their much anticipated $2,200 car yesterday, with 1m people already on the waiting list. Environmentalists fear that the surge in cars, even tiny ones, will make India's cities more autocentric.

High speed train technology is progressing at a rapid pace in Japan, where mag-lev bullet trains are planned to travel at speeds of more than 310 miles per hour by the year 2025.

Colorado law prohibits the collection of rainwater, but urban farmers, environmentally-conscious homeowners, and even developers are catching on to its benefits and building momentum for the legalization of rainwater harvesting.

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.

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.

Computer modeling predicts sea levels rising 55 inches by 2100, and a recent report from California's interagency Climate Action Team is calling for a radical reorganization of the state's coastal development and infrastructure to avoid disaster.

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.

CA's Air Resources Board has issued a new regulation to reduce carbon from fuels - and the ethanol industry isn't happy.

Thousands of homes in development are being halted and thousands more vacant new homes are being foreclosed across California, leading to crime, looting and squatting.

The 2008 Summer Olympics brought a boom of construction to host city Beijing. But now, six months later, much of the office space built in the lead up to the games sits empty -- and likely will for years.

A new study of Los Angeles Business Improvement Districts shows that private security provided by BIDs has reduced crime in these areas more than in the rest of the city.

In an effort to get a more precise look at the city and its distinct neighborhoods, the Los Angeles Times is starting a collaborative mapping project to set clear and adaptable boundaries for L.A.'s neighborhoods.

At 3 AM, Feb. 19, the state Senate secured its third Republican vote necessary to pass a budget and fill the $42 billion budget deficit. This article looks at one of many environmental rollbacks demanded by Republicans.

Drops in tourism and luxury car sales are among the reasons why the ritziest cities in Southern California are not impervious to the recession.