California
An Enticement to Ride BART to the Airport: A Shorter Security Line
Airport and transit planners in the Bay Area are considering adding a perk for transit ridership for travelers to and from San Francisco International Airport.
Plan Would Shift High-Speed Rail Funds to Burbank-Anaheim Commuter Corridor
Improvements to the commuter rail connections between Los Angeles and Orange counties are among the possibilities for the future of rail planning in California as uncertainty about high-speed rail continues.
Busy Section of L.A. Rail Transit Had Quicker Service in 1916
Over a century ago, the Pacific Electric Railway operated a line between downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach that competed its journey ten minutes faster than LA Metro's Blue Line does. What gives?
Sacramento Gaining an MLS Team, a New Stadium, and a Big Mixed-Use Development
Sacramento Republic FC will have a new home in Sacramento's Railyard District, expected for completion by 2022.
Engaging, Then Planning, for Equity
The interdisciplinary work of the Kounkuey Design Initiative, led by executive director Chelina Odbert, and deeply committed to the homegrown potential of neighborhoods and communities.
New Models of Risk Assessment Needed in Wildfire Zones
About 350,000 residents have lost wildfire insurance in recent years, as a series of catastrophic fires have swept the state of California and insurance industry struggles to keep up with climate change.
Another Bay Area City Considers Urban Tolling
East Palo Alto has long suffered the toll that transbay traffic has imposed on this gateway to Silicon Valley from the East Bay in the form of air pollution and traffic congestion. Now the city is considering tolling the traffic.
Facebook Offers $1 Billion to Ease California's Housing Affordability Crisis
Facebook joins as Google in the $1 billion club, though this club plans to spend that money on housing programs to help alleviate the exploding cost of housing in the state of California.
Sports-Related Development Transforming San Francisco's Waterfront South of Downtown
The Giants announced two massive development proposals in recent weeks, and the Warriors are opening a new arena to regular season games later this week.
San Diego Parking Reform Wins the Day With the California Coastal Commission
The California Coastal Commission could have overturned part of San Diego's ambitious parking reform policy approved earlier this year, and would have if commission staff had won their arguments.
L.A.'s Blue Line Reopening Soon, With a New Name
The Blue Line light rail line, connecting Los Angeles and Long Beach, is almost finished with a $350 million repair program. When it reopens to service it will be called the A Line.
L.A. Wants Fewer Parking Podiums
The Los Angeles City Planning Commission has approved a new Advisory Notice regarding above grade parking, in the hopes of limiting the massive parking podiums proliferating around the city.
Where to Prioritize Buses Next
Advocates in New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle are pushing for more transit and pedestrian priority, and less car-centric streets, as a wave of high-profile projects capture national attention.
Massive Discrepancies Identified in Official Homeless Counts
The Los Angeles Times crunched data from the 2019 point-in-time count of homelessness in Los Angeles County. What they found diverged profoundly from official findings.
Social Equity Cited in Veto of California Road Pricing Bill
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a unique road pricing bill due to concerns that charging a fee would limit access to driving on two blocks of Lombard Street, a popular tourist attraction in San Francisco that is severely congested.
The Interior Secretary's Past Lobbying Work Scrutinized
A project to raise the height of the Shasta Dam, dead in the water before the Trump administration, is moving forward now that a former lobbyist for the project is the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Governor's Transportation and Climate Actions Stir Controversy in California
California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order last month directing state agencies to consider climate goals in their spending and operations. Two weeks later, three highway widening projects were deleted, and locals are crying foul.
Car-Free Market Street Approved in San Francisco
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors approved the Better Market Street plan on October 15, 2019.
Light Rail Could Finally Get Priority Over Cars at Intersections in Los Angeles
The city of Los Angeles controls the streets and the intersections crossed by the Expo Line as its connects Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monic and the beach. The city has made its first progress toward prioritizing trains. at those intersections
So You Want to Be a Planning Commissioner?
San Francisco provides a case study of the immense challenges and scant rewards that await you in a job as a planning commissioner—planning outcomes suffer as a result.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
