Los Angeles

South L.A. Housing Project First to Use New 'Transit Oriented Community' Incentives

The city's new guidelines incentivize the development of affordable housing near transit.

October 17, 2017 - Urbanize LA

Metro Los Angeles Has a Trippy New Take on the Transit PSA

Metro Los Angeles new transit etiquette public service announcement is either a dream or a nightmare, depending on your perspective, but the transit agency clearly spared no expense in trying to impart a few lessons on courteous riding.

October 12, 2017 - The Source

Two More Road Diets Erased in Los Angeles

Traffic safety projects, and with it the city of Los Angeles' Vision Zero and Great Streets initiatives, have been dealt disappointing setbacks in recent months.

October 6, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Construction

California's New 'By-Right' Housing Law: Will it Make a Difference?

A new law could enable affordable housing projects, if they meet the specified criteria, to bypass the public process that so often blocks their approval.

October 5, 2017 - Los Angeles Daily News

FLV California train

California High-Speed Train Behind Schedule in the San Joaquin Valley

$2.5 billion in stimulus money to build a San Joaquin Valley high speed train has been spent, yet the train is still almost a decade from being ready to carry passengers across its entire run.

October 1, 2017 - Fresno Bee

Homeless Man

A New 'Transit Homeless Action Plan' for Los Angeles

Transit can be a vital resource for the homeless. In Los Angeles, where that population is growing, this is doubly true.

September 29, 2017 - Curbed Los Angeles

Disable Access

Accessibility Barriers Continue to Plague Some Metro Systems

Most metro systems in the United States tend to score high on accessibility, while European systems have mixed results.

September 28, 2017 - The Guardian

Los Angeles River

Three New Bridges for Crossing the L.A. River on Foot

A plan for a bridge from Griffith Park to Atwater Village is the latest in a series of proposed pedestrian bridges over the Los Angeles River.

September 27, 2017 - The Architect's Digest

California Homeless

Lessons From San Diego's Hepatitis A Outbreak

Voice of San Diego reports in detail about the months of warning San Diego officials had about the spread of Hepatitis A in public areas around the city. Still, prevention measures took a back seat to bureaucracy.

September 27, 2017 - Voice of San Diego

Nimitz Freeway

Bay Area Not Prepared for Next Big One

As the death toll from Mexico's 7.1 magnitude earthquake on Sept. 19 climbs above 300, the San Francisco Chronicle investigates how well prepared the Bay Area is for an earthquake of comparable magnitude. Not very well.

September 25, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

110 Freeway

L.A.'s New Transit Oriented Communities Guidelines Are a Boost for Affordable Housing

The city of Los Angeles is taking substantive action to provide incentives for affordable housing development.

September 25, 2017 - Urbanize LA

Car Graveyard

Faster, No Matter the Cost

Kerry Cavanaugh argues that the interests of drivers are standing between California and the policies it should be pursuing.

September 25, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles High Rise Construction

Downtown L.A. Sees Vacancies Rise and Homeless Populations Grow

There's plenty of housing available in Downtown L.A. for the wealthy but, while those apartments sit empty, many looking for housing find costs too high to pay.

September 20, 2017 - KPCC

Traffic

Op-Ed: Given the Chance, Congestion Pricing Would Ease America's Traffic Woes

Amanda Eaken offers up a defense of "Go Zones," otherwise known as congestion pricing. In Los Angeles and elsewhere, she argues, they could thin out traffic.

September 17, 2017 - NRDC

Los Angeles

Los Angeles Could Charge Non-Residents to Drive in Congested Areas

If this solution from a regional planning agency gains traction, New York City may have some competition to become the first American city to implement congestion pricing.

September 15, 2017 - KPCC

Nordstrom

Experimental Nordstrom Store Will Have No Clothing for Sale

A California Nordstrom store will stock no clothing for customers to buy. Instead, it will let shoppers try on clothes in a curated environment and order anything they like to be sent to their homes.

September 14, 2017 - The Washington Post

LA Metro, Wilshire and Western

Luxury High-Rises Sprout Alongside Los Angeles' Expanding Subway

Los Angeles' extended Purple Line subway may very well spur an extension of the "linear downtown" along Wilshire Boulevard. Luxury high-rises are the most conspicuous new arrivals.

September 13, 2017 - The Architect's Newspaper

1984 Olympics

L.A. Olympic Organizers Say CEQA Exemption Isn't Necessary to Streamline Transit Projects

The strange world projects exempted from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act got a little stranger this week.

September 7, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Stormwater Infrastructure

The Changing Paradigm of Stormwater Management

In the past, stormwater management has been about flood control. The future of stormwater, however, is in capturing, treating, and recharging water supply, according to this article.

September 6, 2017 - Maven's Notebook

Affordable Housing

The Unequal Distribution of Public Housing Across Los Angeles

KPCC has published an interactive map showing the publicly funded affordable housing developments in Los Angeles County.

August 31, 2017 - KPCC

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.

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.