Purple Line Extension

London 2012 Olympic Games

Los Angeles Receives $900M for Infrastructure Ahead of 2028 Olympics

The influx of federal dollars comes as LA has just four more years to complete ambitious transit improvement plans before it is due to host the Summer Olympic Games.

April 10, 2024 - Transportation Today News

Yellow electric excavator digging at construction site in Los Angeles, California.

LA Rail Project Testing Electric Excavator

The battery-powered excavator could replace diesel-powered machinery to reduce construction emissions and noise.

October 1, 2023 - Skanska

Construction fence and crane

Los Angeles Subway Work Halted Amid Serious Safety Lapses

A string of unaddressed worker injuries prompted the county transit agency to suspend work on a subway line that will connect downtown Los Angeles to the westside.

October 27, 2022 - Los Angeles Times

Metro Subway Los Angeles

L.A. Metro Receives $1.24 Billion in Federal Funds

L.A.'s transit agency was awarded over a billion dollars in American Rescue Plan funding for maintenance and operations.

January 18, 2022 - The Source

Maryland Transit Administration

Maryland's Purple Line Gets the Green Light Again

The public-private partnership behind the Purple Line light rail project in Maryland fell apart in September, and has this past week been revived.

December 1, 2020 - The Washington Post

Maryland Transit Administration

Purple Line Construction Halts in Maryland as Contractor Woes Deepen

Purple Line Transit Partners, the contractors managing construction of the beleaguered Purple Line in Maryland, have begun to walk off the job as a dispute about cost overruns brings the project to a screeching halt.

September 23, 2020 - The Washington Post

Maryland Transit Administration

Maryland's Purple Line Light Rail Project in Crisis

The design-build team hired to build the Purple Line in Maryland could walk off the job unless a deal regarding the increasing cost of the project isn't brokered by June 20.

June 16, 2020 - The Washington Post

Purple Line Extension

Maryland's Purple Line Clears Final Legal Obstacle

A third lawsuit tried to halt the Purple Line light rail project in Maryland, but it was just the latest lawsuit to get tossed by a judge.

April 17, 2020 - The Washington Post

Purple Line Extension Construction

Low Car Traffic Enables Accelerated Subway Construction in Southern California

The city of Beverly Hills, long an opponent of the project, is now taking advantage of a lack of car traffic to drastically speed up construction on the Purple Line subway extension.

April 2, 2020 - Streetsblog LA

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Feds Release Capital Investment Grants for Three Rail Transit Projects

Three major public transit projects in the western United States received a major infusion of funding from the federal government this week.

July 12, 2019 - Progressive Railroading

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Tardy Transit Funding Arrives in Los Angeles, Twin Cities

They had to wait the better part of a year, but two major transit projects finally have the funding Congress allocated in March.

November 29, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Metro

Successful Ballot Measures Spell Doom for Transit Funding in Trump's 2018 Budget

President Trump points to the passage of multi-billion ballot measures last November as proof that federal funding isn't needed to fund transit, justifying elimination of a major grants program. The CEOs of two large transit agencies fight back.

May 30, 2017 - The Source

LA Metro, Wilshire and Western

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.

January 5, 2017 - The Source

Los Angeles Subway

Los Angeles' Purple Line Moves Past Legal Opposition

A subway extension that would cut across the Los Angeles basin has cleared another legal hurdle, despite the efforts of a coalition of opponents in the city of Beverly Hills.

August 16, 2016 - The Source

1984 Olympics

Olympic Hopes Move the Finish Line for Los Angeles Rail Plans

The city of Los Angeles is leveraging its hopes as the U.S. candidate to host the 2024 Olympics to ramp up rail construction to an "extremely aggressive" timetable.

September 10, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Metro Map

Los Angeles Breaks Ground on Purple Line Subway Extension


The long awaited groundbreaking for work on Los Angeles’s Purple Line Extension commenced. The project is expected to open in 2023.

November 8, 2014 - The Source

Metro Subway Los Angeles

$2.1 Billion in Federal Transit Funding for the 'Subway to the Sea' in Los Angeles

Los Angeles will receive its largest-ever federal grant, $1.25 billion, to help fund the Purple Line subway, aka the "Subway to the Sea." Also on its way is an $856 million loan from the TIFIA program.

May 22, 2014 - Los Angeles Daily News

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.