Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne begins a year-long series reading and reviewing 25 books all about L.A.
The first two books in his series are Louis Adamic's "The Truth About Los Angeles" from 1927 and Morrow Mayo's 1933 book "Los Angeles". The books represent dated yet still relevant perceptions of the city.
"Adamic, perhaps best remembered as a historian of the labor movement, finds plenty to poke fun at in Los Angeles -- which he calls 'a young city, crude, wildly ambitious, growing' -- but saves his harshest disdain for its newest arrivals, the Midwestern refugees lured to Los Angeles by cheap rail fares and the promise of sunshine and leisure, many of them churchgoing retirees content, as he puts it, to 'live in bungalow courts and eat in cafeterias.'"
Read the full story: Reading L.A.: Louis Adamic and Morrow Mayo
Searching for the 'Urban Mystique'
An excerpt from a new book by Josh Stephens, "The Urban Mystique: Notes on California, Los Angeles, and Beyond," published by Solimar Books.
Book Review: Discovering Griffith Park
There is finally a guidebook for one of the country's largest city parks. Learn more about it in this L.A. Times review.
Wild LA: An Excellent and Beautifully Illustrated Resource for L.A.’s Biodiversity
Los Angeled has plenty of urban wildlife, but people don’t usually associate the city with the term biodiversity. L.A. County park planner Clement Lau offers a book review on the a book on that subject, "Wild LA."
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.
In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.
MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
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