Los Angeles County

CicLAvia Rides into South Los Angeles

CicLAvia, the Los Angeles open streets event, heads to South Los Angeles for the first time today. Sahra Sulaiman explains the communities preparedness leading up to this historic event.

December 7, 2014 - Streetsblog LA

Bridging the Gap in the Los Angeles River Greenway

A new trail segment along the Los Angeles River breaks ground in a park-poor neighborhood as part of the countywide Los Angeles River revitalization.

November 23, 2014 - The Planning Report

Homeless

Fighting Homelessness by Closing a Commuter Rail Station

The high desert city of Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County has an innovative plan to reduce its homeless population: Close its Metrolink station, the last stop on the Antelope Valley line, that serves 400 commuters daily.

October 28, 2014 - The California Report

Los Angeles County's Creative Plans to Boost Parks

A recent Los Angeles Times article described the creative ways the city of Los Angeles is trying to meet park needs. Los Angeles County park planner Clement Lau describes the county's side of the story.

September 7, 2014 - UrbDeZine

How Los Angeles' Urban Parks Battle Climate Change

An overview of how Los Angeles County’s Department of Parks and Recreation is creating projects that tackle the effects of climate change, by planner Clement Lau.

August 1, 2014 - UrbDeZine

A Growing Body of Knowledge Examines Unauthorized Housing in Los Angeles

An academic look at unauthorized housing in the Los Angeles area: Interview of Jacob Wegmann by Los Angeles County Planner Jonathan Bell

June 21, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Green Light for Red Light Cameras in California

A decisive California Supreme Court ruling on June 5 made life easier for jurisdictions to enforce red-light laws using traffic camera technology by stating that the photos have the "same presumption of validity as other types of photos and videos."

June 8, 2014 - KTVU.Com

A Political Victory to Protect Wild Coastal Land

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky discusses how the approval of new plans will preserve a stretch of unincorporated Southern California coastline.

May 14, 2014 - The Planning Report

The State of Preservation Policy in L.A. County: Not Great (with Some Exceptions)

The Los Angeles Times reports on the Los Angeles Conservancy's 2014 Preservation Report Card, which "grades" each of L.A. County's local governments on their preservation programs (or lack thereof).

March 28, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Reinvests in 'Family Solution' to Homelessness

Los Angeles County has allocated an additional $10.2 million to expand the Family Solutions Centers program, which supports some of the estimated 7,391 homeless families living in the county.

February 24, 2014 - Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas

Recession Surprise—Net Migration Still Favors the Inland Empire Over Los Angeles

The Inland Empire—suburban and exurban counties located to the east of Los Angeles—experienced some of the worst impacts of the housing crisis and recession. Yet, people still arrived there in droves during the recession.

February 10, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Will 2014 Bring a New Transit Tax Push in L.A.?

Los Angeles area officials are discussing options for placing a new transportation funding measure before voters. A similar effort in 2012 failed to pass the necessary 67 percent threshold by less than 16,000 votes (out of nearly 2 million cast).

January 1, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

Proposed Gated Community Threatens L.A. Wildlife, Scientists Claim

A proposed gated community in Los Angeles County has provoked the ire of a group of scientists concerned about its environmental impact.

November 24, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

New Report Aims to Help L.A.'s Urban Gardens Grow

A group of graduate planning student at UCLA have compiled the first comprehensive survey of urban agriculture in Los Angeles County, providing tools for planners and policy-makers to boost the area's agricultural fecundity.

August 23, 2013 - UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs

L.A. County Dealt Another Defeat in Storm Water Cleanup Case

After the U.S. Supreme Court sent a long-running lawsuit over pollution in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers back to a lower court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that L.A. County is liable for high pollution levels in the rivers.

August 9, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Pretty City. Don't swim after storm.

Supreme Court to Decide Who's Responsible for Storm Water Pollution

A case over "who can be held responsible for polluted storm water that runs off city streets and into rivers and bays" is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court tomorrow. The court's ruling on the Los Angeles case could have far-reaching impacts.

December 3, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

What Was Behind L.A.'s Rejection of its Transportation Ballot Measure?

Was not enough transit spending the culprit for the narrow rejection of Los Angeles County's Measure J initiative, which aimed to speed up construction of a host of the region's transit projects from 30 to 10 years? Damien Newton thinks so.

November 8, 2012 - LA.Streetsblog

LA County Passes Healthy Design Ordinance

Yesterday the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a new ordinance meant to better tie planning for the county's unincorporated areas to positive public health outcomes.

January 25, 2012 - Curbed LA

In LA, Agricultural-Residential Zoned Neighborhoods Threatened

A neighborhood in Tarzana, one of the few residential areas in Los Angeles County that allows raising livestock, battles developmental pressures. The latest proposal: razing five homes for an elderly care center.

January 25, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Top Educated Cities in California Mostly in Bay Area

With 79.7 percent of its residents with a bachelor's degree or higher, Palo Alto, home to tech giants Facebook and Hewlett-Packard, is the most educated city in California, reports Joanna Lin for California Watch.

November 16, 2011 - California Watch

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.

Senior Planner

City of Thousand Oaks

Community Development Director

City of Wisconsin Rapids

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

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