Los Angeles was never designed to be a dense, East Coast or European-style city dominated by a strong central core.
Author Joel Kotkin examines the connection between planning and politics as he explains what he wants in a new mayor for Los Angeles. Kotkin calls for more efficiency and less vision:
"Nothing less will help preserve what the British call the 'middle landscape,' a place with ethnic diversity, shops at a walkable distance and farmers' markets, and secure enough that our 10-year-old can ride her scooter without getting flattened in traffic or razzed by gangsters.
...the city has become denser and more urbanized over the years. Yet an attachment to a small-town lifestyle has made something of a comeback throughout the city recently."
Thanks to Laura Kranz
Read the full story: Forget the 'Vision.' Just Fix the Potholes.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.
California, Hawaii, Rhode Island approve housing propositions
Hawaii and Rhode Island each approved their sole proposition, while California approved two of its three.
Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review
Amtrak plans to move their Chicago maintenance facility from an industrial area to a residential one.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority