It will come as no surprise to those tracking the built environment in Los Angeles that City Planning currently faces a number of challenges.
Still, the department continues to pursue a plethora of projects and initiatives. Principal City Planner Ken Bernstein provides an overview of ongoing priorities, updating readers on each one's status. He covers community planning, transit-oriented development, the Great Streets Initiative, Mobility Plan 2035, and Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles.
Addressing a major roadblock, Bernstein explains: "Last December, just as these plans were about to go to Council for final adoption, the City received the tentative decision (with the final decision in February) from the Los Angeles Superior Court striking down the Hollywood Community Plan based on perceived inadequacies in the plan’s environmental impact report... That court decision has had significant impacts and has prevented the speedy adoption of the remaining six plans. It’s meant that much of our community plan program this year is addressing the EIRs for pending plans, rather than achieving final adoption and freeing up our staff to begin new plans in other Los Angeles communities."
Despite frustrations around community planning, the department has successfully seized other opportunities. With two grants from Metro, City Planning is preparing transit-oriented development plans for neighborhoods surrounding Expo Phase II, the Westside Subway Extension, downtown rail stations, and the Orange Line in the Valley. Bernstein describes efforts to "reshape our transportation policies around the principles of 'complete streets'" through a new Mobility Plan, to update a Transportation Element dating back to the 1990s. Finally, he touches on "the city’s first-ever attempt to truly link public health and land use."
This TPR article appears as part two of two. The first segment of the interview with Bernstein, focusing on SurveyLA, can be found here.
FULL STORY: Bernstein on Community Planning Slow-Down and TOD Progress

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie