California

The developer of the Tejon Ranch agreed to a plan to put permanent conservation easements on almost 375 square miles of ranch lands and wilderness 60 miles north of Los Angeles, in exchange for rights to develop 10 percent of its land holdings.

There is very, very little new housing construction in most of California, where the number of housing starts is down 75% from the boom year of 2005. One result is layoffs for planners, building inspectors and plan checkers.

What do you do when 96 football fields worth of space opens up in a major metro area?

With 70 percent of its waste already diverted from landfills, San Francisco continues to push forward with new laws and programs to increase recycling.

In two separate examples, a Los Angeles Times columnist shows how stakeholders with money tend to win the support of local politicians more often than the less fortunate.

Environmentalists say laws have yet to catch up with greener fuel alternatives for cars.

Go for a ride with Los Angeles' leading pedestrian activist and learn about some of the challenges in bringing change to the Car Culture Capital of America.

Despite concerns about lowering property values across the city, the L.A. City Council moved to limit the size of newly constructed homes in older neighborhoods to about 4,000 square feet.

In an incredible recycling operation that reduces global warming, a waste hauler is building a facility to produce Liquefied Natural Gas from methane emitted from its California landfill to fuel its garbage trucks.

The agreement trades a massive open space donation and other terms for clearance to conduct exploratory drilling off the coast.

In this opinion piece, Roger Snoble of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority discusses why the region's mobility would benefit from toll lanes on highways.

The Transit Coalition's Bart Reed and USC planning Professor Peter Gordon debate transit and traffic in L.A. in this five-part point-counterpoint series.

Small car sales, especially hybrids and subcompacts, are jumping while pickups and SUV sales plummet, contributing to a reduction in gas consumption. The $3.50 gallon mark may have been key to influencing vehicle selection as well as driver behavior.

High rates of obesity and diabetes are being correlated to high concentrations of fast food restaurants in neighborhoods. Some look to zoning as a solution.

Developers and politicians in L.A. are stealthily moving forward with plans to build a skyscraper in the heart of Hollywood -- a 40-story project that would tower high over existing development in the area.

Efforts to redevelop a blighted commercial plaza in South Los Angeles have proved fruitless -- angering residents who say the city has ignored them and allowed taxpayer money to be wasted. Questions remain about the developer's financial dealings.

To build a sense of community and improve long neglected but heavily used bus stops, a community group in South Los Angeles has begun creating colorful outdoor living rooms to give residents a place to sit and chat.

The latest population and housing estimates for the San Fransisco Bay Area show that urban areas are equaling, if not exceeding, the growth of suburban communities -- with more multifamily homes being built in lieu of detached single-family homes.

Two ballot measures -- one sponsored by property owners, the other by local government groups and businesses -- seek to tighten the rules around eminent domain, and potentially end rent control in the state.

San Francisco planners unveiled a rezoning proposal that would permit new skyscrapers around the new Transbay terminal, shifting downtown southward around a planned 1,000 foot tower -- which would be the tallest on the West Coast.