Chief Zoning Administrator Michael LoGrande has been promoted to director just a few short weeks after his predecessor, Gail Goldberg announced her resignation.
Aged "only 39 and with no formal education in urban planning," he was not the obvious choice, reports Dakota Smith. "But there is enthusiasm within the department and in the developer community for a man who has been described by colleagues as a can-do, let's-get-this-built kind of guy."
LoGrande plans to focus on adhering to smart growth tenets and building around transit hubs.
Read the full story: L.A. Quakes Over New Planning Director
Los Angeles Finalizing Three Long-Awaited Community Plan Updates
Los Angeles is poised to approve a trio of long-planned zoning code updates—for the neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Downtown, and Hollywood—as the first test cases for a new citywide zoning code update known as re:code LA.
City Council Controversy Threatens L.A.’s Proposed Downtown Plan
A Los Angeles Times editorial explains how political intrigue is spilling over into planning frustration in the city of Los Angeles.
L.A. Planning Department Adjusts to State Housing Laws
Los Angeles Director of Planning Vince Bertoni was recently interviewed the effects of new state planning and housing laws in the state’s most populous city.
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.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
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