San Jose

Bay Bridge, New Year's Eve

Study: NIMBYs Stunt the National Economy

A new study calculates the national consequences of restrictive housing regulations in three cities: San Francisco, New York, and San Jose.

May 12, 2015 - New York Magazine

Silicon Valley's Latest Innovation: Recycled Water

A proposed $800 million facility in Santa Clara County will put recycled water on the tech boom's doorstep.

May 1, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News

Bay Area Bike Share Poised to Grow from 700 to 7,000 Bikes

The regional system would expand to the the East Bay cities of Berkeley, Oakland and Emeryville. Bikes would be added in San Jose and San Francisco.

April 4, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Office Park

Tech Giants Bank on Growth, Acquire More Space

To provide room for long-term expansion, companies like Google, Facebook, and LinkedIn are buying up even more Bay Area real estate. Their flush cash reserves have them nudging out the traditional development and investment crowd.

March 24, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Local Revenue Funding More Bay Area Road Maintenance

The greater Bay Area is enjoying a substantial increase in road maintenance funding from local measures, like bonds, city and county sales taxes, and development fees, part of a growing trend in compensating for a shortage of state gas tax funds.

January 27, 2015 - Inside Bay Area.com

Op-Ed: Time for the Bay Area to Embrace Regional Planning

An op-ed by the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board takes cues from London's regional transportation planning efforts in an argument supporting regional planning for the San Francisco-San Jose Bay Area.

December 29, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

San Jose Enacts 'Pedestrian Safety Zone'—Bans Bikes from Sidewalks

The city of San Jose has responded to concerns of seniors in the community by banning bikes from sidewalks a large swath of downtown near the convention center, City Hall, and San Jose State.

December 4, 2014 - San Jose Mercury News

Silicon Valley BRT

BRT Planned for the Silicon Valley

A region dominated by automobile-friendly infrastructure has released a Draft EIR for a bus rapid transit project connecting central San Jose to Palo Alto via El Camino Real.

November 16, 2014 - Human Transit

Two Proposed San Jose BART Stations on the Chopping Block

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) officials have sparked a controversy after announcing that they are likely to cut two of the four proposed stations, one in San Jose and one in Santa Clara, from BART extension plans.

November 4, 2014 - San Jose Mercury News

Transportation Planning a Key Issue in Upcoming City Elections

Rachel Dovey provides a roundup of mayoral races that feature special interest and attention on the issues of public transportation and transit-oriented development.

September 8, 2014 - Next City

BART Announcement

BART secures $760 Million for 10-mile Extension to San Jose, California

On Wednesday, officials celebrated the final fiscal installment of the $2.3 billion 10-mile BART extension planned to open in 2018.

August 22, 2014 - San Jose Mercury

My First Ride

How Well Does Light Rail Attract New Transit Riders?

The answer to the question in the headline is “not very.” Thirty years into the initial experiment, however, light rail has not been the game changer it was hoped to be.

April 13, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

New Development Begs the Question: Which Way, San Jose?

Despite its mostly sprawling conditions, San Jose has recently prioritized walkable, dense urban environments. But should the city focus its development downtown or build a connected network of urban neighborhoods?

March 24, 2014 - Silicon Valley Business Journal

drinking fountain

Silicon Valley Cities Drought-Proofing Water Supply with 'Direct Potable Reuse'

Recycled wastewater, or "direct potable reuse," proved successful in Orange County, and following the driest year on record in California, more cities are looking to implement water purification facilities.

March 15, 2014 - San Jose Inside

San Francisco Sprawl

SPUR: The Bay Area Has A Sprawl Problem

SPUR states its case clearly by announcing, “We believe cities are the key to our future” at the opening of a new report called “SPUR’s Agenda for Change.”

March 13, 2014 - Next City

New Report Recommends a Regional Solution to S.F.'s Affordability Crisis

Could Silicon Valley play a key role in alleviating San Francisco's growing affordability crisis? That's among the suggestions put forth in a new report from SPUR that outlines specific ways that San Jose could attract young professionals.

December 13, 2013 - SFGate

Community Gardening Program Feeds Those Hungry for Improving San Jose's Poor Neighborhoods

San Jose's Garden to Table program is just one of several initiatives led by CommUniverCity that are collectively giving disadvantaged residents the tools to improve their personal health and the health of their communities.

August 15, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Bay Area Bike Share Prepares for August 29 Launch

Dwarfed by its city counterparts, the Bay Area's 1,000 bikes will cover a larger region (5 cities in 3 counties) with fewer bikes, many placed at key transit nodes. It also distinguishes itself by being a 'pilot program' with multiple public owners.

August 14, 2013 - Environment News Service

How Well Does Mass Transit Serve America's Jobs?

For those seeking to diversify metropolitan mode shares, good news can be found in a report just published by the Brookings Institution: most urban jobs are near transit. Unfortunately, employees, for the most part, are not, reports Conor Dougherty.

July 11, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

America's Most Creative Cities

Revisiting the metric he developed a decade ago in his groundbreaking book "The Rise of the Creative Class", Richard Florida ranks the American metros with the largest concentrations of creativity.

July 9, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

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.