San Jose

Red Light Camera

San Francisco and San Jose Propose Joint Pilot Program for Speed Cameras

Legislation proposed by San Francisco Assemblyman David Chiu would authorize a red camera pilot program to last five years and apply only to the two cities. California lacks laws permitting automated speed enforcement.

February 11, 2017 - ABC KGO TV 7 - San Francisco

Miami Mall

Pedestrian-Friendly Malls Continue to Gain Popularity

Providence, Rhode Island is one of many cities to get mall-like retail center built with walkability in mind and set around a Plaza.

November 23, 2016 - Providence Journal

San Jose Plots a Major Street Overhaul

Chynoweth Avenue in San Jose, California is notorious for speeding, illegal dumping, and prostitution. The city's remedy includes a fairly comprehensive reconfiguration of the street and its infrastructure.

November 1, 2016 - San Jose Mercury News

Bay Area Bike Share Renamed for New Sponsor: An Auto Company

The new, Detroit-based sponsor will help pay for a ten-fold expansion of the Bay Area's regional bike share program coming this spring and a new Palo Alto program. Low income residents will be offered discounted rates to join Bay Area Bike Share.

October 21, 2016 - Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Sharks Arena

San Jose Sharks Invoke CEQA to Protect Arena Parking

Another "only-in-California" story.

July 1, 2016 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

Golden Gate

Bay Area Election Roundup: Wetlands, Housing, Ballot-Box Planning, Sales Tax

A regional measure to tax all property owners in the 9-county Bay Area to adapt to sea level rise passes; S.F. voters support raising the affordable housing bar; Richmond voters reject ballot-box planning; San José approves sales tax increase.

June 9, 2016 - Planetizen

Bart

Santa Clara County to Vote on Tax for Silicon Valley BART Extension

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority unanimously approved the 30-year, half-cent transportation sales tax for the countywide ballot in November. $1.5 billion in tax revenues would go to Phase II of a BART extension in the Silicon Valley.

June 8, 2016 - Planetizen

How Bay Area Cities Are Dealing with the Housing Crunch

A booming-once-again tech sector and a rapidly increasing population in the Bay Area are aggravating a historically tight housing market. Preservation architect Jerri Holan looks at how Bay Area cities are dealing with the housing crunch.

April 22, 2016 - UrbDeZine

Planning for a Network of Trails in the Heart of the Silicon Valley

San Jose, California's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services has begun the process of updating its Trail Strategic Plan.

April 4, 2016 - San Jose Mercury News

A Tale of Two Cities: San Jose and Flint

The fixed costs of infrastructure projects leave cities like Flint struggling to pay their bills with fewer people pooling their resources.

March 3, 2016 - The Atlantic

A Change of Direction for California High-Speed Rail

In the face of political opposition and mounting construction costs in Southern California, the state High-Speed Rail Authority has chosen to build north from the Central Valley to San Jose rather than south from Fresno to the San Fernando Valley.

February 22, 2016 - Los Angeles Times

Rail Extensions Receive Sizable FTA Grants in Omnibus Spending Bill

Sound Transit, L.A. Metro, and Santa Clara VTA received sizable funding in FTA's New Starts/Small Starts program for their light and heavy rail extensions, thanks to Congressional representatives who included them in the omnibus bill,.

December 28, 2015 - RT&S (Railway Track & Structures)

Beware of Energy Rankings for Cities

In a special "Energy for Tomorrow" report, The New York Times looks at "clean city rankings" of energy efficiency and land use. But ranking cities is no easy task—"winners on one list may appears as sinners on another."

December 10, 2015 - The New York Times - Energy & Environment

Bus Rapid Transit Hitting Speed Bumps in the Silicon Valley

A proposed BRT route between Palo Alto and San Jose is the latest to hit a setback.

December 1, 2015 - Palo Alto Online

Grizzly Point Berkeley

Can a Single Regional Planning Agency Fix What Ails the Bay Area?

The potential to address the housing and transportation issues of the Bay Area by a single regional agency will be addressed this week.

October 28, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News

CicLAvia Crowd

Open Streets Events Enjoy Coast-to-Coast Popularity

New York City and San Jose have expanded or added rules that temporarily close some of their streets to automobile traffic. This continues a string of successes for the open streets movement.

July 15, 2015 - Next City

California First: Carbon Fees Used to Fund Affordable, Transit-Oriented Housing

On June 29, the California Strategic Growth Council awarded $121.9 million in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds to help build 28 affordable housing developments on major transit lines. Funding originates from proceeds of the cap-and-trade market.

July 6, 2015 - PR Newswire

No Luxury Condos

Unpacking the Idea 'More Housing Equals Lower Prices'

It makes economic sense: increase supply in desirable areas to match demand. These articles look at some of the factors complicating that story in on the west coast.

July 4, 2015 - City Observatory City Commentary

Second Largest Bikeshare in U.S. will be Bay Area's by 2017

Bay Area Bike Share will grow from 700 to 7,000 bikes by 2017 after the expansion proposal was approved by a unanimous vote of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. It is a regional, not a city program, though most usage is in San Francisco.

May 30, 2015 - Metropolitan Transportation Commission

Growth Chart

U.S. Census Releases 2014 Population Estimates

The U.S. Census Bureau's 2014 population estimates shows persistent trends of growth in the Sun Belt along with a few other noteworthy data points.

May 21, 2015 - U.S. Census Bureau

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.