An affordable housing proposal proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown failed to marshal the necessary support in the State Legislature, facing opposition from a coalition of labor and environmental groups, as well as the League of California Cities.
"The forces in California invested in preventing solutions to the housing crisis still have the upper hand," according to an article by Rob Poole.
Poole's commentary follows the scoop reported by Jim Miller and Anshu Siripurapu: an affordable housing package proposed by Governor Jerry Brown was dead for the year. According to that article, "Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said Thursday, saying there continues to be intense opposition to Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to relax local land-use rules in return for $400 million for housing projects." Planetizen blogger Reuben Duarte provided a detailed analysis of Gov. Brown's policy proposal back in May 2016.
According to Poole's analysis, "[t]he failure of Governor Brown’s proposal is deeply disappointing to urbanists, as major policy change is necessary to address California’s worsening housing crisis, income inequality and economic segregation."
FULL STORY: Huge Victory for Status Quo: By-Right Housing Dies
Why California's By-Right Affordable Housing Proposal Died
California's average home prices are 2.5 times the national average and rising, so why is it so hard to build a political coalition to build more housing, and especially more affordable housing?
California Governor Proposes Streamlined Affordable Housing Process
Rather than devoting more funds for affordable housing, California Governor Jerry Brown is supporting streamlined regulations, mandated by the state and enacted at the local level .
Another Attempt at California's By-Right Affordable Housing Proposal
The new streamlining bill for affordable housing will not have the governor's name, but that of freshman Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener, who made a name for himself as a tenacious housing advocate while San Francisco County Supervisor.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association