California City, California was designed to be the state's next great metropolis. But today it's hardly more than a dream. Geoff Manaugh reports on this modern-day ghost town.
Though it was founded in 1958, California City never really caught on.
Manaugh writes, "Surrounded by a sprawling ghost-grid of empty streets scratched into the dust and gravel with nary a finished house in sight, California City is a labyrinth of meticulously named culs-de-sac-Oldsmobile Boulevard, Alpha Street, Planet Lane: a dream city that never quite happened."
FULL STORY: Ghost Town: The Abandoned Suburb of California City
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
Significant Investments Needed to Protect LA County Residents From Climate Hazards
A new study estimates that LA County must invest billions of dollars before 2040 to protect residents from extreme heat, increasing precipitation, worsening wildfires, rising sea levels, and climate-induced public health threats.
Federal Rule Raises Cost for Oil and Gas Extraction on Public Lands
An update to federal regulations raises minimum bonding to limit orphaned wells and ensure cleanup costs are covered — but it still may not be enough to mitigate the damages caused by oil and gas drilling.
Opinion: Criminalizing Homelessness Is ‘Expensive and Shortsighted’
Policies that punish and fine unhoused people for sheltering outdoors, even when other shelter is not available, are the most visible but least efficient ways to reduce homelessness.
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