Silicon Valley

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.
Where It's Cheapest to Build Out a New Office
With so much attention paid to the nation's housing crisis, it's still important to keep an eye on other kinds of uses. The office market is full of surprises, like cheap office build out costs in a city infamous for residential gentrification.

Can Silicon Valley Work for Bikes?
America's tech capital might be great at innovation, but innovation in bike transportation hasn't been a priority. Perhaps that's starting to change.

Artist Creates 'Trap' For Self-Driving Cars
As an act of resistance, artist James Bridle used salt to draw a set of lines on a road that would, in theory, hold an autonomous vehicle in place.
Wanted: High-Speed Rail Operator for California
The California High-Speed Rail Authority has taken the first official step to find a train operator for the initial operating segment of the 800-mile project: connecting the Central Valley to the Silicon Valley, with estimated completion by 2024.

An Affordable Uber, But For How Long?
A glimpse at Uber's financials show's that the car-hailing app's days of affordability may be shorter than some are expecting

Y Combinator's New Cities Project Gets Curiouser and Curiouser
The Silicon Valley start-up devoted to reinventing the city made a splashy hire this week.

How Office Parks and Corporate Campuses Evolved
The office park has become a suburban given, disliked by some, but once it represented a utopian vision of work away from the city. Here's a look at how the Silicon Valley model developed, and where it might be going.

Is the Company Town Back? Sort Of.
Unlike the earlier iteration, today's full-amenity tech campuses provide their well-paid engineers with Millennial-friendly upper middle class comforts. But is that enough?

Foolish Utopianism in Today's Top Architecture
Reviewing Douglas Murphy's book "Last Futures: Nature, Technology and the End of Architecture," Jonathan Meades lays into the new utopianism of contemporary architecture. Silicon Valley gets portrayed as both foolish and hypocritical.

How Detroit Beat the Silicon Valley to the Breakthrough Electric Vehicle
It costs less than $40,000 and gets over 200 miles to a charge. The Tesla Model 3? Yes, and also the Chevy Bolt, which goes to market first. A New York Times technology columnist writes that 'size matters' when it comes to innovation.

Tech Shuttles: The Bay Area's Seventh Largest Transportation Provider
A new survey has found that every day more than 800 tech buses are traveling on the region's roadways, carrying around 34,000 passengers daily

A Few Big Cities Lead the Economic Recovery
As the debate about whether people prefer to live in the suburbs or the big city rages on, data from the U.S. Census reveals a clear preference on the part of economic trends in the wake of the Great Recession.

High Tech Embraces Suburban-Style Office Park Thinking
Critics claim tech companies such as Apple and Google are guilty of repeating past mistakes of urban development by creating suburban campuses that isolate themselves from the surrounding community.

Silicon Valley Preparing for Switch to a High Frequency Bus Grid
A Silicon Valley columnist debates the tough political questions inherent to the process of redesigning local bus service.
San Francisco Teachers Could Get Eviction Protections
San Francisco may move to protect teachers from "no-fault" evictions during the school year.
BART to the Silicon Valley: Phase 1 Well Underway, Phase 2 Now on the Way
What seemed for decades like an impossible dream is becoming more and more of a reality: BART service to San Jose and the Silicon Valley.
Mountain View Breaks Rank—Approves Large Amount of New Residential Land Uses
According to a new plan approved by the city of Mountain View, developers could now add a large amount of dense housing on the doorstep of Google's headquarters.
Putting Geniuses In Their Place(s)
Eric Weiner's "The Geography of Genius" offers a delightful, if limited, analysis of cities throughout history where "genius" has arisen and offers inspiration for planners who want to make cities more than just places to live and do business.

Tech Sector Makes Inroads in Portland
Low prices and a less frenetic working environment are drawing tech employees to Portland, Oregon. Gentrification may loom, but along with it may come expanded economic opportunities for the city and state.
Pagination
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)