Los Angeles pundit Joel Kotkin's most recent diatribe about the alleged "Manhattanization" of Los Angeles has put Bill Fulton over the edge. Kotkin's arguments are old, tired and contradictory, says Fulton.
"Increasingly, it seems that the only thing we can count on Kotkin for – in newspaper op-eds, anyway – is to disagree with the conventional wisdom, no matter what it is. In fact, as time goes on, Kotkin – ever the contrarian – seems to spend more and more time disagreeing with planners and commentators who mostly agree with him.
"In the last few years, he's fallen deeper and deeper into the trap of being a contrarian for its own sake." In fact, what's happening in Los Angeles is exactly what Kotkin has called for repeatedly: the creation of a series of core areas and activity centers strung across the landscape.
Thanks to Paul Shigley
Read the full story: It's Time To De-Kotkinize The Planning Debate
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.
Democrats’ victory may threaten act to expedite energy projects
Democrats may decide to vote against the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, and negotiate a more favorable bill once the 120th Congress begins.
Voters choose public transit, approve $31 billion in funding
Approved projects include $101,000 for reduced-cost transit in a Michigan town and $14 billion for regional transit in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
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