Los Angeles

Fast Food

Fighting Food Deserts in Los Angeles

Public health analysts and justice activists are tackling food deserts in a state known for its agricultural output. Low-income neighborhoods of color are the hardest hit by a lack of grocery options.

March 20, 2015 - Pacific Standard

Study: South Los Angeles Fast Food Ban Didn't Cut the Fat

A fast food ban enacted in 2008 in an effort to curb obesity, diabetes, and other chronic health issues failed to achieve its well-intentioned goals, according to a new study by the RAND Corporation.

March 19, 2015 - RAND

Eastside Gold Line and Los Angeles skyline

Where Los Angeles Equals San Francisco's Density

Though the Los Angeles region is very dense, significant barriers to transit-oriented planning remain. Based on this analysis, the lack of a central urban core shouldn't be one of them.

March 19, 2015 - Medium

Debating the Costs and Benefits of Airbnb's Short-Term Rentals

A labor group is taking on the impact of short-term rentals on the housing market in one of the most expensive cities in the country. The debate is contentious, with numbers flying both ways, and also critical for the economic health of cities.

March 16, 2015 - KPCC

Change of Venue for Denver's Transit CEO: Los Angeles

Phillip Washington will leave his role as CEO of the Denver Regional Transportation District to take the same position at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

March 13, 2015 - Los Angeles Daily News

La City Hall Cycling

On the Re-Orientation of Los Angeles

Aaron Paley, the man who brought Ciclovia to the United States, wants Los Angeles to be a model for the transition from auto-dependent to car-optional.

March 12, 2015 - The California Sunday Magazine

Union Station

Los Angeles and the Getty Launch Historic Places Database

Confirmed: Los Angeles really does have a rich history. HistoricPlacesLA, a new online database, provides detailed information on the city's historic sites.

March 11, 2015 - CityLab

A 'Good News' Air Pollution Study for a Change

Too often we report on new studies showing how air pollution worsens public health, often causing premature death. For a change, here's a study showing how efforts to improve air quality in Southern California have boosted public health in children.

March 9, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Farmers Field

Op-Ed: Terrorism Fears Cloud Los Angeles Stadium Debate

With as many as a half-dozen groups vying to develop an NFL stadium in Los Angeles, things were bound to get ugly. And they did. A report warns of a possible terrorist attack at one stadium site. The report's publisher? Backers of a rival stadium.

March 4, 2015 - California Planning & Development Report

Los Angeles Releases 20-Year Plan for Mobility

One of the largest ongoing planning efforts in the city of Los Angeles is an update to the Mobility Element of the city's General Plan. A revised version of the draft "Mobility Plan 2035" was released in February.

March 2, 2015 - Curbed LA

Little Free Library

Regulating the Little Free Library

The Little Free Library movement is a well-intentioned overture to literate neighborliness. In spite of lacking obvious drawbacks, certain officials argue it should undergo more stringent permitting.

March 1, 2015 - CityLab

A Planner's look at Public Exercise and Fitness Infrastructure

Los Angeles offers many free or affordable alternatives to private gyms for exercise. Clement Lau, a Los Angeles County parks and recreation planner, goes on to review these resources in Los Angeles' public fitness infrastructure.

February 26, 2015 - UrbDeZine

New Orleans Aerial

Q&A: New Orleans Planning is 'Visionary within the Envelope of Feasibility'

The following interview, as published in the 4th Edition of the Planetizen Guide to Graduate Urban Planning Programs, features Jason Neville, senior planner for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority.

February 26, 2015 - Jason Neville

Broadway Los Angeles

Re-Zoning For Walkability

It often seems that streetscapes' appearances and forms are immutable, but Los Angeles is trying something new. Through a herculean effort called Recode: LA, Los Angeles is rewriting its codes and, consequently, may change how its streets look.

February 23, 2015 - Public CEO

Leaky Pipes will Cost Los Angeles at least $1.3 Billion to Fix

The Los Angeles Times offers a broadly ranging, interactive feature on the decrepit state of Los Angeles' water infrastructure.

February 19, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

New York City Construction

Affordable Housing: the Hype and the Hope

Sam Hall Kaplan elucidates the inadequacies of affordable housing policy before introducing a new perspective to the conversation—a new book by Roger Katan with Ronald Shiffman called "Building Together."

February 17, 2015 - Sam Hall Kaplan

Unaffordable, Growing Cities Lag on New Housing Permits

Stephen Smith follows up on an earlier report of New York City housing permits with a report on the entire metropolitan area. Included for comparison are the numbers of housing permit filings for metropolitan areas around the country.

February 15, 2015 - New York YIMBY

Qualcomm Stadium

Five Reasons for Cities to Punt NFL Teams

While citizens of San Diego, Oakland, and St. Louis argue over whether they can afford to keep their NFL teams, overlooked are the benefits of being rid of them, writes land use attorney and San Diego Chargers fan William Adams.

February 15, 2015 - UrbDeZine

Residents Disillusioned with the Planning Process in Los Angeles' Chinatown

Sharon McNary reports on a proposed development in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles that predates, and could thus avoid, the guidelines put forward by one of the most progressive plans in the city—the Cornfield Arroyo Specific Plan.

February 13, 2015 - KPCC

Residents Sue Over the 'Lawless Skid Row' of Venice Beach

Venice Beach, one of the most popular tourist destinations and recognizable public spaces in Los Angeles, has long been the site of regulation battles. Now a neighborhood group is suing the city over what it perceives as rampant lawlessness.

February 4, 2015 - CBS Los Angeles

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.

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.