California

Taste Buds Don't Lie: Recycled Water Tastes as Good as Bottled Water
We're talking about toilet to tap. There, we said it.

A Stroll With Los Angeles' Own 'People Walker'
A cartoon strip captures the essence of Chuck, the creator of The People Walker in Los Angeles.

Signatures Submitted for Initiative to Reform California Proposition 13
A coalition of groups advocating for more funding for local communities and schools want to reform the landmark tax-cutting initiative by treating commercial and industrial properties different than residential, creating the so-called "split roll."

Pilot Bike and Scooter Share Program Inspires Protest in Santa Monica
Bird and Lime launched their "Day Without A Scooter" protest this week.
Hollywood Welcomes Carbon Neutral Complex Amid Revitalization
Kilroy Realty Corp. has broken ground on Academy on Vine, a long-anticipated campus of offices, apartments, and stores in the heart of Hollywood.

Airport-Style Body Scanners Coming to L.A.'s Rail System
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be it the first in the country to deploy body scanners on its rail system.

Empowered Through Design: How a Purposefully Rudimentary Activity Sparks the Imagination
Memory can be an intensely powerful tool when planning for the future.

New Surveillance Technology Gathers Plenty of Data, but Who Has Access?
As new technology for data collection becomes available to police departments around the country, concerns grow about what is being collected and who has access.
California REITS Have Much at Stake on Election Day
One of the most controversial measures on the November 6 ballot in California is Prop. 10: the repeal of the landmark Costa-Hawkins Act that places limits on rent control. Real estate investment trusts are donating big time to defeat it.

Five Key Energy Bills the California Legislature May Decide this Week
Energy stakeholders in California are watching five important bills to see which go forward with three weeks remaining in the legislative season. One would require the state to generate all electricity from renewable sources by 2045.

New Linkage Fee Approved in South San Francisco
The city of South San Francisco recently approved a linkage fee for commercial developments, following the lead of a few other cities that have decided on linkage fees as a similar mechanism to fund affordable housing.

Federal Appeals Court Orders EPA to Ban Harmful Pesticide
The ruling puts another stain on former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's legacy as it rebukes his denial of a petition to ban a pesticide that causes neurodevelopmental damage in children. Pruitt had rejected his own scientists' recommendation.

San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center Open, When Will Trains Arrive?
To great fanfare, the Salesforce Transit Center opened on Saturday to thousands of visitors anxious to see the huge facility. Sunday was quieter, with the first AC Transit buses arriving on the third-floor bus deck. Train arrivals: TBD.

Paying for Climate Change Mitigation at the Pump in California
Two market-based programs add about a quarter to every gallon of fuel purchased in the Golden State, but don't expect to see the prices listed anywhere. Furthermore, costs to comply with the Low Carbon Fuel Standard are expected to increase.

Ride-Hailing Companies Agree to Tax in San Francisco
Essentially, Uber and Lyft chose a tax on rides instead of a gross-receipts tax.

'Valley Link' Planned to Relieve Bay Area Super Commuters
Planners are working quickly to refine a proposal for a $1.8 billion project connecting the 680 corridor in the East Bay Area to bedroom communities in the Central Valley.
Commercial Corridor Going Car Free in L.A.'s Playa Vista
A proposal to block cars from the Runway in Playa Vista reflects a new approach to user experience in retail environments.
SoCal Gas to Pay $119.5 Million for Aliso Canyon Gas Leak
The settlement closes another chapter in the saga of the methane leak that caused an evacuation of a corner of Los Angeles from October 2015 to February 2016.

California Protects its 15th Wild and Scenic River
Conservationists got a little help from some perhaps surprising sources in winning a designation for the Mokelumne River as the latest Wild and Scenic River in California.

Mapping All of San Francisco's Transit-Related Projects
A new interactive map keeps residents up to date on where the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is working on new projects.
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.
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