Sacramento

Scooter Share

More Rights, Fewer Responsibilities, for Electric Scooter Riders in California

A bill that would toss the helmet requirement for adult e- scooter riders and allow them to ride on roads where the speed limit is 35 mph, up from the current limit of 25 mph, is on Governor Jerry Brown's desk. He has until Sept. 30 to decide.

September 4, 2018 - San Francisco Chronicle

Davis and Sacramento

Widening I-80 from Davis to Sacramento: HOT Lane or HOV Lane?

Caltrans is studying a plan to widen 16 miles of Interstate 80 through Solano and Yolo counties, over the Yolo Bypass. Initially, the plan called for a carpool lane, but uncertainty about funding makes a toll lane a possibility.

June 5, 2018 - The Sacramento Bee

Golden Gate

California Population Grows to 39,810,000 in 2017

California added 309,000 residents last year, an 8 percent drop compared to annual increases since 2010. The state added a net 85,000 housing units, accounting for losses to wildfires.

May 11, 2018 - SF Gate

California State Capital

Sacramento Debuts On-Demand Transit Service

Sacramento Regional Transit's SmaRT Ride service is an on-demand public option to compete with Uber and Lyft.

May 4, 2018 - The Sacramento Bee

Los Angeles

Could Los Angeles Have Made Better Use of Former Redevelopment Funds?

After a state decision to abolish California's redevelopment agencies seven years ago, Los Angeles still received some of that money, directing it to city services instead of affordable housing.

April 26, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Harbor Freeway

California Has 8 of the 10 Most Polluted Cities in the U.S.

Despite ever-stricter air-quality regulations and dropping emissions, the American Lung Association once again finds the state to have some of the worst air in the nation.

April 24, 2018 - USA Today

Highway Speed

California Bill Sets Its Sights on Lower Speed Limits

A proposed bill in the California State Assembly would make it easier for local jurisdictions to set lower speed limits, sidestepping the controversial 85th percentile rule.

March 6, 2018 - Streetsblog California

Sacramento

Sacramento Streetcar Faces Uncertain Future Due to Trump Budget

The president's Fiscal Year 2019 Budget cuts the critical Capital investment Grants program run by the Federal Transit Administration. Projects lacking a full-funding grant agreement, like the Sacramento Streetcar, may fall victim.

February 18, 2018 - The Sacramento Bee

Street Mural

Road Diet, Protected Bike Lane Coming to the Heart of Sacramento

Major changes are coming to one of Sacramento's busiest commercial and commuting corridors.

February 5, 2018 - Sacramento Bee

Fiber Optic Cable

5G Broadband Coming in 2018, Says Verizon

The telecommunications company will debut the next-generation technology in three to five cities next year, including Sacramento.

December 15, 2017 - Smart Cities Dive

Sacramento

Bay Area Displacement Spreads to Sacramento

A new study finds evidence that the ripple effect from the San Francisco Bay Area's housing affordability crisis has reached all the way to Sacramento.

November 25, 2017 - The Mercury News

Sacramento

Sacramento Plans to Spur Clean Fuel Industry with 'Green City' Initiative

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg hopes that an infusion of EV funds can jumpstart a new, clean economy in the city.

November 4, 2017 - The Planning Report

San Francisco Houses

Coming to Terms With the Bay Area's Housing 'Death Spiral'

Prospects for solving the Bay Area's severe housing shortage look far off. Action on the state level may be one way to approach this crippling collective action problem.

September 12, 2017 - SPUR

Sacramento

Business Owners Vote to Fund Sacramento Streetcar Operations

The two-thirds threshold proved to be no obstacle for Sacramento streetcar proponents in a special election held June 21, when at least *250 businesses owners voted to tax themselves to fund operations of the proposed streetcar.

June 24, 2017 - The Sacramento Bee

Zipcar

California Cap-and-Trade Shares the Wealth, With Zipcars for Public Housing Residents

Residents of public housing in California's state capital now have new access to economic mobility in the form of a shared fleet of electric cars—all made possible by the state's cap-and-trade system that limits and offset carbon emissions.

May 11, 2017 - The Sacramento Bee

California

Op-Ed: Sacramento Drags Feet on Housing

Dan Walters has some harsh words for California state leaders. He says their approach to the housing shortage has been "tepid" and "lackadaisical."

May 10, 2017 - The Sacramento Bee

Los Angeles

City of Los Angeles Tops 4 Million in Latest State Population Report

As usual, California's fastest growing counties were inland, far from coastal job centers. The big surprise was that the fastest growing city was an affluent Silicon Valley suburb that had been sued in 2012 by affordable housing advocates.

May 5, 2017 - The Mercury News

Rental Construction

Freddie Mac Releases its 2017 Multifamily Housing Market Forecast

A new report from Freddie Mac predicts rising rents and rising vacancy rates in the national multifamily market. The report also compares submarkets.

February 5, 2017 - MultifamilyBiz

BART Train

California Transport Bill Doesn't Support Public Transit as Much as it Could

California State Senators, Ben Allen and Scott Wiener, say California transportation funding bills don't spend enough of their budget on public transit.

January 31, 2017 - The Sacramento Bee

Shopping Mall

Malls Take Action to Curb Troublemaking Teenagers

Some malls across the country have taken to enforcing bans on unaccompanied minors to quell potential trouble, but in California the bans are raising issues of civil libertiies.

January 26, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

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.