Equity refuges from the Golden State are driving up home prices, increasing traffic, liberalizing politics and bringing crime to cities in the Interior West.
"Complaining about Californians is an old tradition in the Rockies; but it is reaching a new intensity. Five million people who were born in California now live outside the state. They are America's second-biggest domestic diaspora, after New Yorkers, and the most noticeable. California is by far the most populous state in the West-and still growing rapidly. It has become a demographic machine, drawing in foreigners while disgorging its own population across the deserts and mountains. In the process, it transforms those areas."
"The exiles' most obvious impact is on housing. 'People from California, who pay a fortune for tiny places, find this to be an appealing market,' says Rocky Anderson, the mayor of Salt Lake City...In Daybreak, a development south of Salt Lake City, many of the big houses are sold not to local Mormons (who have the largest families) but to new arrivals from the west."
"[And] although Denver does not have a Crenshaw Boulevard, it has a Crenshaw Mafia gang, which is named after a street in Los Angeles."
FULL STORY: Dreams of Californication

Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86
Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

Amtrak Cascades Line Breaks Ridership Record
The route linking Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC served nearly one million riders in 2024.

Over 71K Office-to-Apartment Units in the Pipeline for 2025
Adaptive reuse projects are continuing to bring thousands of new housing units onto the market as demand for office space remains low.

How Houston Can Be a Model for Housing Reform
The city builds more new housing than almost any other and has dramatically reduced homelessness, yet low-income families struggle to find affordable housing.

Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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