San Jose City Council

Tents set up by unhoused people under freeway overpass in San Jose, California with American flag above them.

San Jose Mayor Takes Dual Approach to Unsheltered Homeless Population

In a commentary published in The Mercury News, Mayor Matt Mahan describes a shelter and law enforcement approach to ending targeted homeless encampments within Northern California's largest city.

March 14, 2025 - The Mercury News

Aerial view of San Jose, California with mountains in background.

Managing Unsheltered Homelessness in San Jose

As California and other Western states await a SCOTUS ruling that will greatly affect how cities deal with tent encampments, a new stakeholder is causing big changes in how Northern California's largest city deals with its unsheltered population.

June 26, 2024 - Irvin Dawid

Coyote Ridge San Jose

Deal Will Preserve Valuable S.F. Bay Area Open Space

Land in the Coyote Valley in San Jose, California, will be protected in a move that ends over three decades of development battles.

November 12, 2019 - The Mercury News

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.