Berkeley

California Shelter-in-Place

Contrasting the Coronavirus Impact in the Bay Area to New York City

Early intervention, or population density? NPR reporters based in the Bay Area and New York City offer explanations as to why the two regions are seeing such a wide contrast in experiences during the coronavirus outbreak.

April 8, 2020 - NPR

Shipping San Francisco Bay

Bay Area Ordered to Shelter in Place

Six Bay Area counties have taken drastic action to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus. "Please read this Order carefully. Violation of or failure to comply with this Order is a misdemeanor punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both."

March 17, 2020 - San Francisco Chronicle

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

U.S. Cities Where Homeowners Stay Put the Longest

A study identifies cities where people stay in their homes longer, and they tend to be at either end of the income and home values spectrum.

February 14, 2020 - The New York Times

Dog Parks Are Everywhere, but Where Did They Start?

Dog Parks Are Everywhere, but Where Did They Start?

Giving dogs the opportunity to play and socialize without restraint has its roots in the free speech movement in Berkeley, California.

January 26, 2020 - Smithsonian Magazine

Eucalyptus Tree

The Ongoing Debate Over California's Eucalyptus Trees

The eucalyptus is an exotic species in California, and studies suggest it has contributed to an increase in wildfire hazards. But defenders of the trees say the eucalyptus is just an ecological scapegoat.

December 28, 2019 - The Guardian

Downtown Oakland

S.F. Bay Area Cooperative Offers New Affordable Housing Model

A California cooperative brings together investors to make homeownership more accessible and finance housing projects that help to slow gentrification.

December 18, 2019 - Next City

Berkeley People on Bikes

Berkeley to Explore 'Idaho Stop' Policy for People on Bikes

Berkeley could decide to deprioritize enforcement of people on bikes who treat stop signs as yield signs when the intersection is free of traffic.

November 18, 2019 - Berkeleyside

Berkeley People on Bikes

City to Bicyclists: Berkeley Not in Idaho

Berkeley, California might have a reputation of a very progressive city, but when it comes to cycling, it appears to have little tolerance for cyclists who roll through stop signs. Police are justifying the crackdown on the terms of a state grant.

September 13, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

East Bay Area

Another Berkeley 'First': Banning Natural Gas Lines in New Buildings

On Tuesday night, the City Council of Berkeley, Calif., unanimously voted to ban natural gas infrastructure from new buildings starting next year, the first city in the U.S. to pass such an ordinance. Fifty cities in the state could be next.

July 22, 2019 - San Francisco Chronicle

Berkeley Maintenance Hole

No More 'Manholes' in Berkeley

In removing all gendered language from its civil code, the city of Berkeley is tossing out some familiar nomenclature.

July 20, 2019 - The Mercury News

North Berkeley BART Station

Plans for TOD Housing at Berkeley BART Station

The city is behind plans to turn parking lots around the North Berkeley BART station into much-needed housing.

May 29, 2019 - Next City

UC Berkeley and North Berkeley

Berkeley to Study Missing Middle Housing Options for Single-Family Residential Neighborhoods

The city of Berkeley, famed for its radical left politics in the 1960s, is now considered a bastion of anti-development obstructionism. Those politics could be changing, however.

February 28, 2019 - The Bay City Beacon

Antioch, California

BART TOD Bill Advances Despite Opposition from East Bay Cities

Amidst fierce opposition from East Bay cities who want to control the destiny of BART parking lots in their jurisdictions, Assembly Bill 2923, which would partially preempt local land use authority, passed a critical committee last Thursday.

August 20, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Corner lot gas station

Berkeley Zoning Board Choose Current Gas Station Over Proposed Co-Housing Development

The Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) of one of the nation's most progressive cities has chosen a very conservative approach to new housing projects.

July 25, 2018 - Berkeleyside

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

Editorial Exposes Bay Area Housing Hypocrisy

Cities can't have it both ways on the housing crisis, asserts an SF Chronicle editorial. Case in point: Berkeley passes a resolution to declare homelessness a state of emergency while opposing legislation to allow BART to develop its parking lots.

June 1, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Waste Stream

U.S. Recycling Markets in Free Fall After China Pulls Import Plug

China has stopped purchasing the recyclables that millions of Americans place curbside on recycling days, upending the industry. Recyclables are already directed toward landfills as domestic markets are sought. Berkeley, Calif. may go a novel route.

May 16, 2018 - The Wall Street Journal via MSN Money

Los Angeles High Rise Construction

New Housing Law Empowers Renters Group to Sue Cities that Deny New Construction

The California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund, unlike other renters groups, sees increased housing production as key to bringing down rents. It is enforcing the Housing Accountability Act in cities that arbitrarily deny new construction.

May 2, 2018 - California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund

California's First Use of 2017 'By-Right' Housing Law

A Berkeley parking lot is the site of the state's first implementation of a controversial landmark law that allows eligible developments with affordable housing to bypass the normal channels for approval if they conform to local zoning laws.

March 14, 2018 - KPIX

Berkeley Hills Bay Area

The Country's First Municipal Cryptocurrency Could Fund Affordable Housing

The city of Berkeley is exploring the sale of digital tokens—backed by municipal bonds—as a fundraising mechanism for affordable housing and other local priorities.

February 14, 2018 - Business Insider

Telepgraph Avenue from UC Berkeley Campus 1981

Berkeley Mayor Condemns Legislation to Increase Housing Density by Transit

Mayor Jesse Arreguín's charges about permissible heights, demolition of rent-controlled housing and displacement that would result from Senate Bill 827 by Sen. Wiener are refuted in the Berkeleyside article, though the latter two have resonance.

February 5, 2018 - Berkeleyside

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.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

Top Books

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100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.