Christopher Hawthorne, the architecture critic at the LA Times the contradictory evidence surrounding LA's machinations toward becomming a post-suburban city. He finds public opinion fractured as the MTA finalizes plans for two Westside subway lines.
Even the LA Weekly, once a bastion of all liberal views has published an aggressive indictment of the plans for the subway line. Hawthorne believes "attacks on mass transit and worries about creeping density are two sides of the same coin. Both are driven by fears that Los Angeles is losing the characteristics - easy private mobility, room to spread out - that have always made it, as a suburban metropolis, so different from other American big cities."
Those in favor of a more evolved mass transit system have been no less vocal over the past few months. "On Oct. 10, an estimated 100,000 Angelenos, on foot and on their bikes and skateboards, filled the streets to celebrate CicLAvia. The event drew many more participants than even its organizers were expecting, reflecting a growing constituency in Los Angeles for changes to the streetscape benefiting pedestrians and cyclists."
There is little doubt that as he reality comes nearer, the "gap between those who welcome additional density and crave mass transit and those who are on guard again such change is widening."
Read the full story: There's A Growing Disconnect On A Better Connected LA
LA delays state housing mandate with 'low-rise ordinance'
The new ordinance allows the city to delay implementing SB 79, a state law requiring more density near transit.
LA Metro Opposes TOD Law, Fearing Backlash to Transit Expansion
Metro wants an exemption from California’s new housing law, despite the law’s potential to increase ridership by putting more housing near transit stations.
2025 Brought Seismic Changes to California Housing Laws
New state laws and policies created in reaction to devastating wildfires could spell massive changes for Southern California’s housing landscape.
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.
Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor
Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
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