Los Angeles

Three Model Cities Seattle Can Learn From

Los Angeles, Cincinnati and San Francisco are tackling major urban problems quickly and effectively. This post argues that Seattle can learn much from these efforts.

June 12, 2011 - Crosscut

Where Have All The Children Gone?

Decreasing fertility rates of non-Hispanic whites and black women, plus the tendency of families with children to cluster, have caused declines in the '18 and under' population share in 95% of U.S. counties.

June 5, 2011 - USA Today - Census

Understanding the Freeways of L.A.

In the latest installment of a year-long series about Los Angeles-focused books, Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne reads the 1981 book "L.A. Freeway: An Appreciative Essay," by David Brodsly.

June 2, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Proposed Mega Project Would Curtain Iconic Hollywood Building

Revived plans to build a large mixed-use development in Hollywood next to an iconic building are awakening some concerns about the potential loss of historic character.

June 2, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

L.A. Metro Tracks Buses With New Tool

Los Angeles' public transit authority has joined those of other major U.S. cities in providing a real-time tool for checking to see how soon buses will arrive at specific stops.

June 1, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

TOD Grows Hesitantly Around New L.A. Station

L.A.'s newest light-rail station, at the current end-of-the-line off La Cienega, has attracted one new office building so far. The developer saw the future transit station as an amenity. Will others join him?

May 29, 2011 - The Los Angeles Times

BRT Boom in U.S.

A new study says that Los Angeles, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Eugene and Pittsburgh are leading the surge with the best bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in the nation.

May 28, 2011 - The Institute of Transportation and Development Policy

Reflecting on the Contemporary City of Los Angeles

In this excerpt from a new book on Los Angeles, L.A.-based architect Michael Maltzan reflects on the city, and how its clashes and evolving identity are part of why it represents the future of cities.

May 25, 2011 - Places

Big But Familiar Park Changes Mirror L.A.'s Issues

Exposition Park in Los Angeles is on the verge of major changes -- a retired space shuttle, the last days of a stadium, new transit access, and the demolition of a piece of big-name architecture. But looking at its history, changes are nothing new.

May 18, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

L.A. Second-Best When it Comes to Transit

Honolulu has the most accessible public transit in the U.S., but apparently the same state with the worst traffic in the nation has the 2nd-most convenient transit.

May 18, 2011 - California Planning & Development Report

Charles Moore's Los Angeles

Architect Charles Moore was an intellect and practitioner that loved Los Angeles, pushing the envelope of the city's nostalgia and utopianism while simultaneously embracing them, says urban designer Vinayak Bharne.

May 12, 2011 - Vinayak Bharne

L.A. tries to Sue Superbank 'Slumlord'

The city of Los Angeles is attempting to sue Deutsche Bank, the owner of thousands of foreclosed and blighted homes in the city. If it works, other cities could follow.

May 7, 2011 - Marketplace

Other Cities Look at L.A.'s Transit Funding Plan

Los Angeles has taxed itself to raise money for transit projects, and now officials want to borrow against those future earnings to speed up projects. This article wonders if that's a model other cities can and should follow.

May 4, 2011 - The Minn Post

Landscape Architecture's Obscurity

L.A.'s landscape architects are relatively obscure compared to their architect counterparts. Is this obscurity the reason landscape architecture isn't as protected as architecture?

May 3, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

The Chaos of Los Angeles

Conor Friedersdorf writes that Los Angeles is made up by 88 different municipalities, 10 million residents and a lot of unincorporated territory, making it difficult to decide who controls what.

May 3, 2011 - The Atlantic

10 Tips for Building a Stadium in L.A.

As the city of Los Angeles edges closer to approving the construction of a new sports stadium in downtown, this post from Curbed LA offers 10 suggestions on how the stadium could and should fit into the city.

April 9, 2011 - Curbed LA

Understanding L.A. in Dark and Light

This piece from Places discusses Los Angeles as a place difficult to wrap one's head around, and how light and darkness are so important to the city's identity.

April 8, 2011 - Places

The Role and Impact of Preservation in L.A.

In this Q&A, architect Brenda Levin talks about the role of preservation in Los Angeles, and how restoring and reusing some of the city's historic buildings has created a long-term benefit.

April 5, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

Keep Your Car Looking Great: Use Transit

This 1950s commercial for the Los Angeles Metro poses another benefit of using transit: your car will stay looking brand new!

March 27, 2011 - Cartoon Brew

24 Hrs. In Terrible Traffic

Data from mobile app Waze is used to create a visualization of the throbbing, insistent pulsing of Los Angeles traffic.

March 24, 2011 - GOOD Magazine

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.