Although it was initiated long before his current term in office, Governor Jerry Brown has hitched his legacy to moving along California's high-speed rail project. He recently ventured to China in search of funding.
reports from Shanghai were California governor Jerry Brown has been engaged in a multi-day trade mission. At the top of his agenda has been trying to bring some of the $77.6 billion China spent last year on overseas investments back to the Golden State.
"Brown's top economic advisor and rail commission appointee, Mike Rossi, met in Beijing with Chinese investors eager for an update on its progress. And China's vice minister of commerce told a hotel ballroom packed with California government and business officials that his country wanted to explore 'the possibility of investment in the high-speed rail project in California.'"
"The Chinese interest in California's project is a welcome boost for Brown," says York. "Although state voters approved $10 billion in bonds for a high-speed railway in 2008, they have soured on it as cost estimates have ballooned by tens of billions of dollars. The governor, who has vowed repeatedly to see the train system built, needs at least an additional $55 billion to make it happen."
Read the full story: Brown wants China aboard California's high-speed rail project
California Governor Brown's Conflicting Road Budget Priorities
When his father was governor, California was awash in federal highway dollars. Now Jerry Brown's administration contemplates a risky tax hike, juggling the need for road improvements with a clean, transit-oriented agenda.
California rail builders sign MOU advancing statewide high-speed network
The agreement aims to create an interconnected high-speed rail network and bring down the cost of construction.
California High-Speed Rail wants to leverage data center revenue to fund trains
By positioning the rail line as a tech and renewable energy corridor, the agency hopes to increase revenue opportunities.
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