The Los Angeles Times
Documenting The Mother Road
The California Preservation Foundation and the National Park Service are funding a cultural survey of Route 66, which could result in several new national landmarks along the old highway.
CalTrans Sued Over Disability Access, Settles for $1.1b in Fixes
Civil rights activists sued CalTrans for failing to provide wheelchair ramps across the state. In federal court yesterday, CalTrans settled with the groups, agreeing to over a billion dollars in access improvements over 30 years.
Much-Needed Water in Nevada is Radioactive
Over forty years, the federal government exploded almost a thousand nuclear warheads under the Nevada desert. Radiation leeched into the aquifers, in a region with a growing population and a water crisis.
Ford in the Black, Thanks to Cash for Clunkers
Ford Motor Co. is reporting almost $1b in profits in the third quarter. CEO Alan Mulally credits the Cash for Clunkers program and cost cutting for their success.
Hitting Fast-Forward on Transit
LA Mayor Villaraigosa an ambitious new plan to speed up new rail projects throughout the city, and to complete it all within 10 years instead of the previously proposed 30.
Environmental Concerns Slow Solar in California
The White House is pushing for more solar power projects nationwide, but environmental concerns are stalling the progress of plans to build solar projects in the California desert.
First Fast Food, Now South L.A. Looks to Ban Convenience Stores
Community activists are calling for a ban on new convenience stores in South Los Angeles, a lower income part of town that saw a ban on new fast food restaurants last year.
Modern Architecture Now Officially 'Old'
Passing the 50-year threshold means that buildings can be considered for historic preservation. Starting in 2010, that means the architecture of the 1960s is coming up for consideration. The Los Angeles Conservancy is gearing up with a new website.
Big Plans in the O.C.
Ken Smith won an international design competition to turn a 1,300 acre former military base in Orange County, CA into an urban park to rival Central Park in NY. His plan is ambitious, and could be sunk by politics and finances.
Metrolink Deaths Could Be Avoided, Says LA Times
244 people have died in Metrolink accidents over the last 15 years. A study by the Los Angeles Times says that that number could be greatly diminished by improving a handful of dangerous intersections.
Radburn Plan Alive and Well in LA
Village Green, a utopian, multifamily development in the Baldwin Hills district of Los Angeles, was built in 1941 and inspired by the Radburn Plan. The low, California style apartments ring a large, common open space.
Fighting Blight With Art
Palm Springs officials are working to fill the windows of empty storefronts with art and movie posters in order to keep the streetscape feeling lively.
The Shifting Tide of Public and Private Space
In Malibu, CA, private property extends to the high tide waterline, where public land begins. An unofficial group of "urban rangers" is giving tours and dance performances along that line to explore the absurdity.
Think You Can Balance California's Budget?
The Los Angeles Times has created an interactive game where you can make the hard choices in where to cut the State's expenditures.
Preserving A Modernist Hotel in LA
A debate over preserving the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City is a question of not just a building, but the historic preservation of an entire model of planning, says Christopher Hawthorne.
Innovation Comes to the Greenhouse
Two brand new, high-tech greenhouses are rising in Camarillo, CA, with the promise of growing 20 times more tomatoes than conventional farming. They'll also be the first greenhouses to be completely carbon-neutral.
Regulations, But Growing Demand for Taco Trucks
Taco trucks are coming under fire in a lot of cities, as officials try to figure out how to handle the nomadic restaurants. As the Hispanic population grows, so does the popularity of the trucks.
The Changing Demographics of the Suburbs
Anaheim, home of Disneyland, is the latest suburban enclave in California to become majority Latino. According to one expert, the shift is due to "two things: Latinos moving in and non-Latinos moving out."
Salamander Could Stymie Development
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering listing the Tehachapi slender salamander as an endangered species, which could cause problems for large developments in California like the massive Tejon Ranch project.
HUD's Dollar Program Misses Mark, Benefits Contractors and Investors
An L.A. Times investigation reveals that HUD's 10-year-old Dollar Homes program provided little lasting benefit to the intended recipients and significant rewards to investors and contractors.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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