Southern California City Pins Hopes for Transformation on General Plan Update

The struggling, industrial South Bay city of Carson wants to shake its image as the site of Los Angeles' landfills and waste treatment plants. It has embarked on a $1 million overhaul of its general plan, despite having a $4.1 million budget gap.

2 minute read

June 22, 2017, 10:00 AM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Team

Among other things, Carson, California is where David Beckham used to work. | Photo Works / Shutterstock

"The [Carson] City Council hired San Francisco-based urban planning firm Dyett & Bhatia earlier this month to oversee public outreach and rewrite the city’s 2004 General Plan," reports Sandy Mazza for the Daily Breeze. "The firm outbid five other companies for the two-year job."

“It’s going to set the stage for future development in the community,” City Manager Ken Farfsing said. “This is going to be a totally different city in five to 10 years.

Carson, population 100,000 [pdf], is the youngest city in the South Bay of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, 12th youngest among Los Angeles County's 88 cities [pdf]. The city celebrates its 50th anniversary next year.

South Bay Region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Los Angeles metropolitan area. (Wikipedia)

As an unincorporated region in the county, it was unable to prevent the location of necessary but unsightly regional facilities, according to the city's history webpage.

By the time Carson finally incorporated as a city in 1968, its landscape was pockmarked with the dozens of refuse dumps, landfills, and auto dismantling plants which none of its neighbors would have in their own cities.

The city also has a history of oil drilling which led to the development of refineries and left a brownfield legacy. "Much of the developable land is contaminated by closed landfills or industrial waste," adds Mazza. But times are changing.

The city’s downtown, along Carson Street between the 405 and 110 freeways, has seen a huge boom in residential development in recent years. Hundreds of new apartments have been built in multiuse developments that include retail shops, eateries and offices.

A critical component of the general plan update will be to generate revenue through economic development.

“The city has been running on a structural deficit for the past several years. It is critical that this update examine ways to balance the increasing cost of providing services with limited sources of revenue,” the document states.

“The city’s economic viability may be at risk unless it formulates new strategies to promote fiscally sound practices.”

Hat tip to L.A. Transportation Headlines.

Sunday, June 18, 2017 in Daily Breeze

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

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.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight