Los Angeles

A First Look at Big Bus Rapid Transit Plans in Los Angeles
A proposed bus rapid transit (BRT) route for Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles was approved in Measure M, the transportation sales tax approved by L.A. County voters in November.

Los Angeles Bans Sleeping in Cars
Critics of new regulations by the city of Los Angeles that ban sleeping in cars and RVs overnight say the new restrictions amount to a ban on homeless people.

SoCal's Gold Line Extension Delayed Two Years
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro) planned Gold Line extension is now scheduled to finish construction in 2025.

California Transport Bill Doesn't Support Public Transit as Much as it Could
California State Senators, Ben Allen and Scott Wiener, say California transportation funding bills don't spend enough of their budget on public transit.
Pasadena Urged to Purge Poison Pills from ADU Reform Ordinance
Pasadena is adopting accessory dwelling unit (ADU) reform in response to state legislation designed to spur affordable housing options by easing restrictions on ADUs. But is it really entrenchment dressed as reform?

Audit: Los Angeles' Density Bonus Program Falls Short of Expectations
Josie Huang reports on a new audit from the Los Angeles City Controller finding that the city's density bonus program is falling short of its goals for delivering affordable housing.

The Other Missing Transit Link to LAX
There is more than one new connection to LAX and the region's rail networks in the works.

L.A. Made Your House Historic and Never Told You
According to this op-ed, the city of Los Angeles is implementing a sweeping, yet almost completely unpublicized, effort to give historic status to tens-of-thousands of homes and properties across the city, without ever telling anyone about it.
Gov. Jerry Brown Restricts Funds for Affordable Housing in New Budget
California's recent rains brought relief to a large part of the water-starved state, but another drought of a political nature hasn't seen relief—the will of coastal municipalities to permit more housing. Brown outlined a way for new funding.

Proposed Law Would Ban Unaccompanied Adults from City Playgrounds in L.A.
There is plenty of debate surrounding a proposed law that would prohibit adults from entering city-owned playgrounds unless in the company of children.

Lucas Museum Finally Finds a Home—in Los Angeles
This story has had more twists than the end of Empire Strikes Back, but it seems like it finally might end in Los Angeles.

Purple Line Extension Gets $1.6 Billion Boost in Los Angeles
The Purple Line subway extension is picking up momentum in Los Angeles. With construction already underway on the first phase, the second phase should commence in 2018.

Building Small to Make California Homes More Affordable
A Santa Ana small lot development could be an example of how California could become more affordable by building more dense urban-style homes throughout the state.
Auto Companies Prepare for Decline of Car Ownership
It's no longer just transit agencies that are trying to meet the first mile-last mile challenge—auto companies have also jumped in by offering "mobility services." And it's more profitable than selling cars!

Benefits Harder to Recognize as Costs to Widen the I-405 Rise
Was the I-405 widening project worth it for Los Angeles? Depends on whom you ask.
Pasadena's Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance Called Out as a 'Poison Pill'
Pasadena's accessory dwelling unit is designed more to prevent than accommodate accessory dwelling units. Planner and Pasadena resident Jonathan P. Bell implores the city's Planning Commission to reform it.

Route Approved for Downtown Los Angeles Streetcar
Construction on the Downtown Los Angeles Streetcar could begin as soon as 2018.

Mapping Los Angeles' Underutilized City-Owned Property
New data shows that the city of Los Angeles owns nearly 9,000 parcels throughout the region—and that it could be doing a lot more with them.

Op-Ed: Build a Dense Wilshire Corridor to Ease L.A.'s Housing Woes
Thom Mayne proposes a radical solution to Los Angeles' affordability/preservation problem: build up transit-friendly areas far beyond current densities, and leave the rest unchanged.

Where Millennials are Moving To and Leaving From
Apartment List has published research showing the top destination cities for those 19 to 35 years of age based on ten years of census data from 2005-2010. Among the top 10 destinations, only three were on East and West coasts.
Pagination
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions