At 1,300 acres, the Orange County Great Park, to be built over the ruins of the El Toro Marine base, may bring greater identity to the sprawling region.
Pundits are heralding the Orange County Great Park as New York's Central Park, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and Los Angeles's Griffith Park -- plus the cultural import of the region's Disneyland -- rolled into one.
"Officials in Orange County...selected a prominent New York landscape architect to design what will be one of the nation's largest urban parks, carved from runways of the closed El Toro Marine base."
"As part of his vision for the new park, he will create a lush canyon that plunges 70 feet deep and stretches more than two miles across a terrain he now describes as 'flat, featureless and uncomfortable.'"
"At the park's center, the planned canyon will widen to accommodate a lake, a lodge, hot-air balloons, an air museum and an amphitheater. Slabs of cracked concrete and abandoned buildings will be transformed into an oasis of woodlands and wetlands."
Read the full story: N.Y. Design Team Chosen to Create a Showpiece O.C. Park
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
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.
‘Hoodwinked:’ New Mexico bill aimed at microgrids paves way for data center development
In an interview with High Country News, Padilla said the legislation “ignited” New Mexico's economy.
California’s ‘unrecognizable’ water plan may go down the drain
After four years of regulatory processes, water agencies say the plan to overhaul how cities and farms take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has changed dramatically.
Chicago Avenue bridge construction delays enrages city leaders
The bridge has been closed since 2025. The city originally aimed to re-open it in December, and now expects to finish construction in 2027.
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
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority