Los Angeled has plenty of urban wildlife, but people don’t usually associate the city with the term biodiversity. L.A. County park planner Clement Lau offers a book review on the a book on that subject, "Wild LA."

Los Angeles—both city and county—is one of the most biodiverse metropolitan areas in the country. This biodiversity is beautifully documented—both by text and imagery—in Wild LA, according to Clement Lau, a Los Angeles County park planner. The book is from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, and its authors are Lila Higgins, Dr. Gregory B. Pauly, Dr. Jason G. Goldman, and Charles Hood. It describes where to go and what you’ll see there. The book also gives some historical information on the subject. Some of the facts that make Los Angeles unique in the country are:
- Los Angeles is the only city in the United States with a major mountain range running through it.
- L.A. County has the greatest difference between its lowest and highest elevations of any county in the United States, ranging from sea level to 10,064 feet at the top of Mount Baldy.
- L.A. is the birdiest county in the country, with more than 500 recorded species.
- L.A. is part of a biodiversity hotspot called the California Floristic Province, which stretches from southern Oregon to Baja California and includes most of California except the deserts.
- L.A. sits in the middle of 4,000-mile bird migration "highway" in the sky, which is used by at least a billion birds annually.
For more details about the book, see the source article.
FULL STORY: Book Review: Wild LA

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions