Los Angeles
Construction Blocking Sidewalks in Booming Downtown Los Angeles
The construction boom in Downtown Los Angeles has had the unintended, and largely unregulated, consequence of closing access to sidewalks. The practice might be illegal under federal law.
'Urban Acupuncture' Prescribed for Los Angeles' Streets
Pulling from Jaime Lerner's famed expression of 'Urban Acupuncture,' Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has chosen 15 major thoroughfares to transform into hubs of neighborhood activity as a part of the Great Streets initiative.
Rules of the Road: Reckless 'Driving' Brings Dire Penalties for Bicyclist
A California Court of Appeal wades into the history of driving laws to determine if a drunken cyclist who maimed a jogger can be charged with reckless driving. The cyclist was not charged with drunken driving. Not all laws are applied the same.
The Value of Fast Transit—Under Construction in Paris
The proposed Grand Paris Express program, which began construction this summer and is expected for completion in 2030, will serve 2 million people a day at "wildly fast speeds." Then there's light rail in the United States.
A Call to 'Retire the Myth' of the Palm Tree in Los Angeles
Victoria Dailey has some strong words for the palm tree in its various forms around Los Angeles in a long read for the Los Angeles Review of Books.
How Apps Can Help Track How Angelenos Move
In a review of the iPhone app Human, Los Angeles County planner Clement Lau examines how the daily movement of residents can be measured.
How Los Angeles’ Union Station Came to Be
Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau reviews the "No Further West: The Story of Los Angeles Union Station" exhibit, on display at the Central Library.
Ready and Waiting: New Law Makes Light Rail Possible in the San Fernando Valley
In another example of Los Angeles slowly unraveling itself from prior legislation that hinder its transit goals, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will allow light rail construction in the San Fernando Valley.
Design Crit: LACMA's Proposal to Bridge Wilshire Boulevard Misreads Los Angeles
The proposed expansion of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently got a major revision—now instead of cantilevering over the La Brea Tar Pits, the building would bridge Wilshire Boulevard.
Op-Ed: No Room for Subjectivity in Los Angeles Design Guidelines
Sam Lubell outlines the good and bad of recent small lot design guidelines approved by Los Angeles.
Proposed Rail Station to Provide Future Rail Connection to LAX
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to move forward with a station near LAX, proving they'd made more progress in the last 12 months than in the previous 25 years to bring transit rail to the airport.
Proposed River Bed Bike Path Would Connect Long Beach to Downtown Los Angeles
The Los Angeles City Council asked city engineers to explore an proposal that would close an 8.5-mile gap in a bike path that runs inside the Los Angeles River channel—connecting Long Beach to Downtown Los Angeles.
Is Los Angeles the Museum Capital of the United States?
Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau continues his case for proclaiming the City of Angels as the museum capital of the United States.
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
Mapping the Toxic Emissions of the Los Angeles Basin
Knowledge is power when it comes to environmental justice, and a group of students from UCLA has recently armed residents of Los Angeles with a mapping tool that tracks the amount of toxins emitted by local factories.
Great Streets? How about Healthy, Safe Streets?
Advocates and citizens in Boyle Heights, a historic and predominantly Latino neighborhood on the Eastside of Los Angeles, are hoping for more than economic development from the city's Great Streets initiative.
No Fix for Rundown Sidewalks and Streets in Los Angeles
The city of Los Angeles has been searching for years for a fiscal solution to the deplorable conditions of its streets and sidewalks, but a recent proposal to increase sales taxes by a half-cent to 9.5 percent is now dead.
The Death of a Bridge in Los Angeles
The demolition of the Riverside-Figueroa Bridge spanning the Los Angeles River between Elysian Valley and Cypress Park has commenced. Advocates lament a lost opportunity for open space as well as the car-centric design of the replacement span.
Los Angeles Paying Hollywood Community Plan Opponents $1.5 Million
Picking up the pieces from Los Angeles' failed attempt at implementing a community plan for Hollywood now involves paying off the lawyers who shot down the ordinance to the tune of $1.5 million.
Supply, Demand, and Affordable Housing
Bill Witte, president of Related California, one of the most active developers of residential and commercial properties on the West Coast, talks about real estate, affordable housing, and a squeezed middle class with The Planning Report.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
