San Jose

California Redefines Density

Census data reveals that California is the most urbanized state, with the most dense urban areas. But in California, sprawl, density, crowding, and urbanism are not always what they seem. Fortunately, a new law may help planners make sense of it all.

April 3, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

New Census Numbers Detail Surprising Facts About Urban Density

John King considers a new report released by the Census Bureau on Monday, which finds that of the ten most densely populated urbanized areas in the United States, nine are in the West.

March 27, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

Mapping the Top Job Markets

Richard Florida ranks the U.S. cities with the highest job growth in 2011 and finds some surprises, based on an analysis of the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics by Aaron Renn.

March 25, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Can the Bay Area Grow Up Without Growing Out?

John King writes about an ambitious new regional plan for the Bay Area that looks to accommodate the 1.1 million new jobs and 2.1 million new residents expected by 2040, with relatively little suburban sprawl.

March 20, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

Examining the Impact of Municipal Budget Cuts

Reporting in The New York Times, Michael Cooper examines the ways in which severe municipal budget cuts are impacting cities across the country through the lens of San Jose, which has lost more than a fifth of its employees over four years.

February 21, 2012 - The New York Times

BART To San Jose To Take $772 Million Step

One of the costliest transit projects in the Bay Area is a $772 million contract, closer to construction come Dec. 8. The long-awaited BART extension from Fremont to the region's largest city may be contingent on FTA funding expected in February.

November 28, 2011 - San Jose Mercury News

Complete Streets Arrives In Bay Area

Gary Richards, the Roadshow columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, provides many examples of redesigning streets for bikes, peds, and transit throughout the Bay Area, a direct result of the 2008 California Complete Streets legislation.

August 21, 2011 - The Mercury News

Caltrain In Freefall

Service will be cut 44%, half the stations to close, elimination of mid-day and weekend service - that is the scenario laid for Caltrain, the West's oldest commuter rail, unless $30 million can be found - unlikely.

February 7, 2011 - San Jose Mercury News

Electric Taxis Coming to Bay Area

A new company is bringing battery switch stations to the San Francisco-San Jose corridor, laying the groundwork for an electric vehicle taxi fleet.

November 2, 2010 - Inhabitat

Can BART Afford It's Expansions?

The Bay Area's 104-mile heavy rail system, BART, is planning major expansions. But many transit supporters, rather than cheering the new service and ridership the extensions would produce, are sounding alarms.

July 21, 2010 - San Francisco Examiner

BART Expansion Raises Questions About TOD in San Jose

Plans to expand the Bay Area's BART system to the Silicon Valley have brought into question the future of a San Jose flea market that some want to turn into a transit-oriented development.

July 2, 2010 - The Wall Street Journal

Pod Cars for Silicon Valley

San Jose is considering a personal rapid transit system for the airport, throwing $4 million at a feasibility study for the "pod cars."

May 26, 2010 - The San Jose Mercury News

"Funky, Casual" Urban Market Coming to Downtown San Jose

Former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery is heading up an ambitious project to transform a mediocre public space into a Granville Market for Silicon Valley.

May 14, 2010 - Metroactive

Wikiplanning a City

As part of their Envision 2040 process, the City of San José is soliciting user input through a web-based wiki.

September 10, 2009 - Government Technology

Becoming an Energy-Independent City

The City of San Jose, California is on its way to becoming the nation's first energy-independent city, deriving all of its energy from renewable sources.

August 5, 2009 - USA Today

California Population Growth Continues To Slow

California's population growth slowed to 1.1% according to the state Dept. of Finance, down from 1.3% last year. Current population is 38.3 million. The LA Times looks at southern CA growth while the SF Chronicle reports on Bay Area growth.

May 7, 2009 - Los Angeles Times

My City's More Man Than Yours

It may come as little surprise to some that the tech-heavy city of San Jose has more males than females. But in other parts of the Silicon Valley, just the opposite is true.

February 12, 2009 - San Jose Mercury News

Personal Rapid Transit for San Jose Airport?

The City of San José, CA is reviewing proposals from 18 companies to create a PRT system connecting the airport to other transportation modes.

December 16, 2008 - ABC KGO TV 7 - San Francisco

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.