Silicon Valley

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

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.

May 5, 2017 - Globe St.

East Palo Alto

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.

April 3, 2017 - Next City

Autonomous Vehicle

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.

March 22, 2017 - Vice Creators

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.

December 26, 2016 - Progressive Railroading

Uber Lyft Departure

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

December 14, 2016 - Financial Times - Alphaville

Urban Sky

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.

October 28, 2016 - TechCrunch

Office Park

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.

October 8, 2016 - SPUR

Google Headquarters

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?

September 30, 2016 - Architecture Boston

Gehry Fondation Louis Vuitton

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.

September 27, 2016 - London Review of Books

Chevy Bolt

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.

September 26, 2016 - The New York Times - Technology

Tech Shuttle

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

September 20, 2016 - San Francisco Business Times

One World Trade Center

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.

May 24, 2016 - The Washington Post

Office Park

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.

April 26, 2016 - Collectors Weekly

VTA Bus

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.

April 21, 2016 - San Jose Mercury News

San Francisco Teachers Could Get Eviction Protections

San Francisco may move to protect teachers from "no-fault" evictions during the school year.

April 5, 2016 - San Francisco Examiner

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.

March 15, 2016 - Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

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.

March 8, 2016 - Vox

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.

March 4, 2016 - California Planning & Development Report

Portland Streetcar Bike

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.

February 29, 2016 - Bloomberg Business

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.

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.