Los Angeles County

Los Angeles, California

Adopting an Intersectional Approach to Parks Planning

This approach makes sense because parks are not isolated spaces, and park planning cannot be done effectively or holistically without considering the social, economic, physical, and political context in which parks are located.

January 25, 2021 - Parks & Rec Business

Washington D.C.

Bike and Pedestrian Advocates Cautiously Celebrate Pasadena's First Bike Lane

Protected bike lanes, like the one Pasadena is installing on Union Street, increase safety for all road users and reduce the likelihood of fatal crashes.

January 20, 2021 - Streetsblog California

Los Angeles sprawl

New Urban Reforestation Program Launched to Address Shade Equity Disparities

Los Angeles County partners with The Tree Pledge and the Radical Resilience Lab to strategically plant trees where they are most needed.

January 19, 2021 - PRNewswire

Los Angeles River Bike Path

Draft Los Angeles River Master Plan Revealed

A new draft Los Angeles Master Plan, created by Frank Gehry's firm, lays out a more active, natural vision for the river, in addition to addressing concerns about displacement in communities along the river corridor.

January 14, 2021 - Urbanize LA

Venice Beach Coronavirus

Los Angeles Mayor Blames COVID Outbreak on Density

Appearing on a Sunday news show, Mayor Eric Garcetti noted that the Los Angeles metropolitan region is the nation's densest and one of two primary reasons why "we're seeing a person every six seconds contract COVID-19 here in Los Angeles County."

January 6, 2021 - CBS News

Los Angeles Earthquake

Los Angeles County the Riskiest Place in the U.S., FEMA Says

The new National Risk Index calculates the brutal equations of natural disasters.

January 4, 2021 - Associated Press

Social Distancing

California Hospitals Now Operating Under Contingency Care Guidelines

The three levels of care provided by hospitals: conventional, contingency, and crisis, were outlined in a letter sent to all hospitals. They must notify the state by Wednesday that they have adopted some version of crisis standards to ration care.

January 4, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

COVID Testing

Cars, Covid, and California

Pultizer-winning science journalist and global health expert Laurie Garrett, an Angeleno, points to the Golden State's auto culture during an interview on MSNBC as one reason why the state is now the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S.

December 31, 2020 - MSNBC

Coronavirus

California's Hospital Crisis: What Lies Ahead

As COVID infections and hospitalizations mount in California, ICU availability dropped to zero in Southern and Central California. Demand for hospital care is also outstripping supply in New Mexico.

December 21, 2020 - The Washington Post

Coronavirus and Transportation

L.A. Metro Plans for an Equitable Recovery

The pandemic has forced difficult confrontations with inequities that existed long before the novel coronavirus. L.A. Metro planners are responding by charting a path toward a transportation system that reverses and improves those previous realities.

December 16, 2020 - James Brasuell

Grocery Store Public Health

California Judge Berates L.A. County Public Health Department in Outdoor Dining Ruling

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge was critical of county public health officials for banning outdoor dining to slow the spread of the coronavirus without providing scientific evidence that the order would reduce infections.

December 14, 2020 - Courthouse News Service

West Hollywood, California

Outdoor Dining Outlawed in L.A. County—Restaurateurs Want to Know Why

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recently closed outdoor dining because of a sudden but rapid rise of coronavirus infections in the county.

December 8, 2020 - Los Angeles Eater

Moms 4 Housing

A Dark Night for the Right to Housing Movement

After a string of high-profile successes in places as geographically distant as Philadelphia and the East Bay Area, an ugly episode in L.A. County the day before Thanksgiving dealt a brutal setback to the burgeoning right to housing movement.

December 1, 2020 - LAist

San Gabriel Valley

Southern California Officials Slow to Accept Complete Streets

Proposed changes to the Los Angeles County Transportation Authority's highway program would allow local governments the flexibility to implement complete street elements with new projects. The proposition has been a surprisingly tough sell.

November 23, 2020 - Streetsblog LA

Los Angeles, California

13-Mile Park to Playa Trail Seizes the Moment in South Los Angeles

A new 13-mile regional trail opens in South Los Angeles, connecting various parks to the Pacific Ocean and providing additional opportunities for residents to enjoy outdoor recreation during a pandemic.

November 5, 2020 - Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

NextGen Bus Plan Approved in Los Angeles

Major changes are coming to the Metro bus system in the nation's second largest city. After three years of planning and public feedback, the Metro board has approved the NextGen bus plan.

November 5, 2020 - The Source

Willowbrook, Los Angeles,

Transformation of South Los Angeles Park Offers Hope to the Community

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Park in Willowbrook has been transformed with $70 million worth of improvements, including a 20,000-square foot event center for community gatherings and events.

October 15, 2020 - Los Angeles Sentinel

Venice Skate Park

Creativity Needed to Meet Recreational Needs During a Pandemic

With COVID-19, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation modified its popular Parks After Dark program so that it could still meet community needs, while complying with public health orders.

September 13, 2020 - National Recreation and Park Association Open Space Blog

Sprawl

Another Grim Coronavirus Milestone: This Time in Southern California

COVID-19 deaths topped 5,000 in Los Angeles County last week as deaths continue to mount due to a hasty reopening after an early shutdown. The center of the of outbreak in California now shifts to the Central Valley.

August 19, 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles County Sprawl

Inclusionary Zoning Adopted in L.A. County

The county of Los Angeles is looking for policy tools that will add affordable housing units to the housing market. Inclusionary zoning is its policy of choice.

August 10, 2020 - Urbanize.LA

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HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Top Books

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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.