Environmental Review
California Governor Suspends CEQA Reviews for Utilities in Fire Areas
Utility restoration efforts in areas affected by the January wildfires in Los Angeles will be exempt from environmental regulations to speed up the rebuilding of essential infrastructure.
Minneapolis 2040 Plan Could Proceed Under New Law
A state law awaiting the governor’s signature could exempt comprehensive plans from environmental review, freeing the plan from recent lawsuits.
Transportation Secretary Orders Review of Fresno Highway Project
The decision follows a lawsuit by local groups who say Caltrans should not have exempted two interchange expansions from environmental review.
UC Berkeley Says Supportive Housing ‘Inseparable’ Part of People’s Park Project
The park remains closed to the public as a court weighs a decision on the university’s proposed housing development.
Misuse of Environmental Laws Betrays Their Intent
How laws written to protect natural resources and biodiversity are being reinterpreted by NIMBY groups to block development.
Los Angeles Diocese Says ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’
A new California state bill lets churches and other faith-based institutions bypass environmental reviews for proposed affordable housing on their properties.
Caltrans Demotes Official Who Challenged Road Expansion Projects
An employee was reassigned after bringing up concerns about highway projects that she alleges improperly skirted environmental review.
California Housing Bills Streamline Affordable Housing
A series of current and proposed bills are paving the way for more affordable housing production in the state, where environmental laws are often deployed to delay or block new development.
New California Law Alters CEQA in Favor of Student Housing
Following a heated legal battle over new student housing in Berkeley, Governor Newsom signed a new law removing ‘social noise’ as an environmental impact.
Utah Oil Shale Extraction Dealt Major Setback
The Surface Transportation Board's approval in 2021 of a proposed 85-mile Uinta Basin Railway in Utah that would have enabled increased extraction of the world's largest source of oil shale was partially vacated by a federal appeals court last month.
Berkeley Noise Pollution Precedent Blocks Los Angeles Housing
Opponents to a new university housing project cited a recent Berkeley case in which noise pollution was successfully used to deny an exemption from environmental review.
Report: Sustainable Transportation Proposals Face Costly, ‘Time-Consuming’ Environmental Studies
In another blow to California’s Environmental Quality Act, a new analysis shows that many green transportation projects are delayed or halted by an expensive, onerous review process and the threat of lawsuits.
What Is CEQA?
Designed to assess the environmental impacts of new projects and provide mitigation measures, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has a controversial history, sometimes serving as a convenient tool for groups intent on stopping or slowing development.
U.C. Berkeley To Reduce Enrollment by Thousands, Court Decides
The California Supreme Court ruled against the university in a battle over a proposed enrollment cap, forcing the school to reject thousands of potential new students.
State Bill Seeks CEQA Exemption for California Universities
A bill introduced in the California legislature would allow public universities to bypass environmental review regulations for student housing projects.
Lawmaker Proposes Permanent Environmental Review Exemptions for Transit Projects
A 2020 law that exempts transit, bike, and pedestrian projects from California's strict environmental review process could become permanent.
The Consequences of Community Engagement
Long, onerous environmental review processes focused on public input can cause major delays and cost increases for infrastructure and transportation projects.
How the Environmental Review Process Privileges Highway Construction Over Transit
U.S. transit projects have a much harder time getting environmental approval than road projects, perpetuating the dominance of cars in U.S. transportation policy.
TxDOT Faces Lawsuit from Harris County Over I-45 Plan
The lawsuit over the controversial I-45 project, which has been plagued by local opposition, calls for a new environmental review.
New Rule Allows States to Bypass NEPA in Favor of State Regulations
Under certain circumstances, states can conduct environmental reviews under state rather than federal regulations.
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.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
