As cities and counties contribute millions to its budget, the Southern California Association of Governments continues to take flak from planners and local officials who deplore its unrealistic planning efforts and inaccurate growth projections.
"Last year, six counties, 187 cities and the federal government poured $23 million into the obscure Southern California Association of Governments, mandated by state and federal law to make sure Southern California doesn't devolve into an unplanned and unlivable mess."
"Joel Kotkin, a Los Angeles–based consultant who studies ways in which U.S. cities attract good jobs and build better neighborhoods, says, 'These days I just make fun of SCAG. Their [economic and growth] projections are waaay off.' In the 1990s recession, SCAG warned that the unemployment rate would remain stuck at or above double-digits until decade's end. Instead, by 1998 joblessness had tumbled. 'SCAG was waaaay off' - by close to 100 percent. Adds Kotkin, 'They go hysterical; they push doomsday scenarios. They figure if they make it sound so terrible, then something will be done. They're ineffective.'
"Pisano says, 'We're trying to make our voice heard in Washington and Sacramento.' But not many power players are listening. Part of that, critics say, is because his team's ideas often sound like a riff from a Cheech and Chong stoner session: Hey, what if we build a high-speed super-railway, and then pull the 18-wheelers off the 710 and give them their own separate freeway?"
FULL STORY: Planning for Disaster

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

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

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City
The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.

Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill
A bill that would limit parking requirements for new developments is headed to the governor’s desk.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users
A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.
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