Los Angeles

Homeless Encampment

Los Angeles Clarifies and Strengthens Protections Against Source of Income Discrimination

Los Angeles officials hope a new law will cut off one of the city's pipelines to homelessness.

July 9, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Downtown River

A Sneak Peek at the New Plan (and Zoning Code) for Downtown Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Department of City Planning has released a draft of the DTLA 2040 plan. In addition to the changes it proposes for the downtown area, it's the first community plan update to roll out the city's new zoning code.

July 6, 2019 - Urbanize LA

Bus Rapid Transit

Public Outcry Greets Plan to Connect L.A. to Pasadena via Bus Rapid Transit

Voters might have approved transit funding multiple measures by wide margins in Los Angeles County in recent years, but actual project proposals still have trouble appealing at the hyper-local level.

June 24, 2019 - Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Bus Rapid Transit

New Bus Rapid Transit Route Takes Shape for the San Fernando Valley

The Valley helped popularize public transit and bus rapid transit in Los Angeles, after the Orange Line achieved immediate, unexpected success last decade. Now new routes are under consideration.

June 20, 2019 - Urbanize LA

Gm Bus

'Speed' Turns 25: Planners Think About Fast Buses

In the '90s, Keanu Reeves was hurtling down the roads and freeways of L.A. in a bus; 25 years later, city officials ponder ways to bring the city’s average bus speed above 10 mph.

June 20, 2019 - Curbed Los Angeles

Traffic Safety Advocates

An Investigation of the Nation's Increasing Number of Pedestrian Fatalities

PBS New Hour takes a deep dive into the climbing number of pedestrian deaths in the United States—now at their highest level in almost three decades.

June 20, 2019 - PBS News Hour

720 Bus at Vermont and Wilshire

The Environmental Costs of Slow, Empty Buses

Flagging ridership on Metro buses in Los Angeles redoubles the need to speed buses up with dedicated lanes, hopefully recovering lost riders and finding some news ones along the way, too.

June 19, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles sprawl

Understanding Cities Through Their Life Cycles

Cities go through ups and downs over time, and where a city is in its longer history can reveal the reasons behind population changes.

June 18, 2019 - Governing

Mountain Lion

Wild LA: An Excellent and Beautifully Illustrated Resource for L.A.’s Biodiversity

Los Angeled has plenty of urban wildlife, but people don’t usually associate the city with the term biodiversity. L.A. County park planner Clement Lau offers a book review on the a book on that subject, "Wild LA."

June 17, 2019 - UrbDeZine

Los Angeles River

Revealed: Three Park Design Proposals for Key L.A. River Parcel

Three design proposals have been unveiled for the Taylor Yards parcel along the L.A. River.

June 5, 2019 - Urbanize LA

Union Station Los Angeles

L.A.'s Union Station Turns 80 and Looks to the Future

Ridership is down and the station has struggled in recent years, but new plans could help revive the 80-year-old historic landmark.

June 4, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Car Bike Lane

Using Gas Tax Revenue to Remove Traffic Lanes Adds to Road Diet Debate

Reducing the number of traffic lanes to improve bike and pedestrian safety can be inherently controversial when auto travel times are increased, and it can upset motorists further when they learn gas taxes are funding those safety improvements.

May 31, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

New York Subway

Why New York's Transportation Infrastructure Costs So Much

It's been remarked upon before. Infrastructure in New York City is a cost nightmare compared to other global cities. Accountability is lacking, Josh Barro writes, but MTA also suffers from an "institutional lack of power."

May 31, 2019 - Intelligencer - New York Magazine

Mobile Parks and Recreation Fill a Need

Several cities are using mobile park and recreation services to augment existing parks and fill gaps in parks. LA County parks planner Clement Lau describes a sampling of mobile programs.

May 28, 2019 - UrbDeZine

Thailand

New on Netflix: How Street Vendors Create Vibrant Cities

Street vending has been a contentious issue in many places, but this part of the informal economy is important to the social and economic well-being of cities.

May 28, 2019 - CityLab

Hollywood Sign

Report: Ballot Measure Intended to Spur Affordable Development Had the Opposite Effect in L.A.

L.A. voters approved Measure JJJ in 2016 in the hopes of encouraging more affordable housing as a trade-off for discretionary approval. The result has been no development at all.

May 27, 2019 - Urbanize LA

Garcetti Expo Line

From April to May in L.A.: From a Green New Deal to Transit Service Cuts

Can Los Angeles convince drivers to cut the number of automobile trips in half while also transit frequency on several light rail lines?

May 24, 2019 - Curbed Los Angeles

Los Angeles Metro Bus

Transit Needs Improvements Sooner Rather Than Later

The Los Angeles transit system is losing riders, but L.A. Metro has been slow to implement changes that could keep people using it.

May 24, 2019 - Los Angeles Times

Urban Careers

Embedded Planning Movement Gains Traction

Jonathan Pacheco Bell chronicles the growth of a movement he created.

May 24, 2019 - UrbDeZine

Los Angeles, California

Four Bus-Only Lanes Under Consideration Around Los Angeles

The transit planning agency in Los Angeles is preparing to make a major addition to the city's number of bus-only infrastructure.

May 20, 2019 - Urbanize LA

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.

Senior Manager Operations, Urban Planning

New York City School Construction Authority

Building Inspector

Village of Glen Ellyn

Manager of Model Development

Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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.