Government / Politics

Leaving California

New Housing Report Finds California Fails to Produce 100,000 Units Annually

The report by the state Department of Housing and Community Development is in the form of a draft assessment that solicits comments. For the last 10 years, the state produced on average 80,000 units annually, while the need was for 180,000 units.

January 7, 2017 - Public CEO

Cancun gas station

New Year's Shock Greets Motorists at Mexican Gas Stations

Mexico began deregulation of gasoline prices to the dismay of motorists, as gas prices jumped about 20 percent on New Year's Day. People are so upset that pundits suggest the decision may imperil President Enrique Peña Nieto's re-election next year.

January 5, 2017 - The Washington Post

Carl Weisbrod, Head of NYC Planning, Stepping Down

Carl Weisbrod will step down from his position at the head of the Department of City Planning in New York at the end of the month, and the de Blasio Administration has already identified his successor.

January 5, 2017 - The New York Times

Debate

Trump: The Ultimate Unintended Consequence

In Sacramento, a protracted fight involving the California Environmental Quality Act downsized a proposed development. It also added fuel to the pro-Trump, anti-development fire that swept the nation on November 8.

January 5, 2017 - California Planning & Development Report

Apartments

European Cities Forcing Airbnb to Play by the Rules

European cities have taken a proactive role in regulating Airbnb.

January 4, 2017 - Quartz

Keep Portland Weird

New Mayor Has Harsh Words for Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement

A recent city audit has empowered Portland's new mayor, Ted Wheeler, to criticize the Office of Neighborhood Involvement in Portland.

January 3, 2017 - Livable Portland

Anthony Foxx Announcement

An Exit Interview with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx

A CityLab interview with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who served in the position since 2013 during some of the most frantic technological innovation in transportation since the dam of the age of the automobile.

January 2, 2017 - CityLab

Michigan the Latest to Preempt Municipalities from Banning Plastic Bags

Michigan has joined a small but growing list of states that have passed laws prohibiting municipalities from banning single-use plastic bags or charging for bags, as is done in California. Critics assail it as an 'attack on local control.'

January 2, 2017 - MLive

Report: California Should Treat Housing Crisis like Climate Change

The California Apartment Association released a report on what it will take to solve the state's chronic housing shortage. Cities that are loath to permit new residential developments, both affordable and market rate, will not be pleased.

January 1, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Climate CHange

The Political Map of 2016 Looks Like the Carbon Emissions Map of 2016

There's a trend here.

January 1, 2017 - The Atlantic

Wisconsin

Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources Is Purging Climate Change

The state of Wisconsin, following in the footsteps of Florida, is pretending that the climate change doesn't exist.

December 31, 2016 - Urban Milwaukee

Cleveland Public Square

Feds Want Their Money Back After Cleveland Changes Public Square Plans

The city of Cleveland knew that the Federal Transit Administration expected buses to run through Public Square. Now that there will be no buses, the FTA says there will be no grant money.

December 30, 2016 - WKYC

MARTA Trains

Georgia Looking to Consolidate Regional Transit Agencies

The carrot at the end of a possible re-organization of the state of Georgia's regional transportation agencies would come in the shape of state funding for transit.

December 30, 2016 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

HUD

Grading Obama's Urban Policy Legacy

Some of the effects of the Obama Administration will take years to appear, but a new book already begins the process of taking stock of the administration's efforts to support and improve cities.

December 28, 2016 - CityLab

San Luis Obispo County Leaders Ponder What's Next After Transportation Measure Fails

The November 8 sales tax measure fell 0.37 percent short, but there's new hope from Sacramento with the reintroduction of a gas tax measure. Democrats now hold the bare supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate needed to pass tax increases.

December 28, 2016 - The Tribune

Real Estate Industry Executives Brace for Republican Tax Reforms

A proposal by House Republicans to overhaul U.S. tax law is gaining traction, aided by the certainty of the Trump Administration. Included among the proposed reforms are changes that could bring an end to a key benefit of home ownership.

December 28, 2016 - The Wall Street Journal

Uber's Self-Driving Cars Leave Hometown for Warmer, and Friendlier Climates

California's loss is Arizona's gain. That's how Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey see's Uber's decision on Thursday to haul their fleet of self-driving Volvos from San Francisco to Arizona after the company refused to secure the necessary operating permits.

December 27, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Artists' Housing, Beyond the SoHo Loft Model

New York has promised to create 1,500 affordable live/work spaces for artists. Architect Emma Fuller believes that careful consideration of building typologies could make it easier to reach this target.

December 27, 2016 - Soft City

The Anaheim Streetcar Project Is Officially Off the Table

A new City Council has ushered in a new agenda for the city of Anaheim. Not on that agenda is a controversial proposal for a streetcar connecting Disneyland, the city's convention center, and the Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center.

December 24, 2016 - The Orange County Register

President Obama Enacts Permanent Drilling Ban Along Arctic and Atlantic Coasts

In a precedent-setting action that supporters call creative and opponents view as abusive, President Obama has declared a permanent drilling ban off the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Maine and along much of the Alaska coast. But will it last?

December 22, 2016 - The New York Times

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.

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