California

San Jose, California

San Jose's Measure B Transportation Funding Caught in Legal Dispute

A one-woman crusade in San Jose, California has derailed transportation spending enabled by the voter approved funding package of Measure B.

September 11, 2017 - The Mercury News

San Francisco Construction

Considering the Street Level in San Francisco's New Urban District

In examining the question of whether a new high rise development in San Francisco achieves success at street level, John King picks up an age-old, but always relevant, debate.

September 10, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

California State Water project

$84 Million in Federal Funds Improperly Spent on California's Delta Tunnels

A federal audit has revealed a failure to disclose the true costs of planning for the Delta tunnel projects.

September 9, 2017 - Associated Press via Los Angeles Times

BART Map

A Decade-Plus in the Making—Transit Village Comes to a Posh Bay Area Suburb

The city of Walnut Creek, located in the East San Francisco Bay Area, will soon gain 600 new, transit-adjacent apartments and a whole lot of parking.

September 7, 2017 - The Mercury News

1984 Olympics

L.A. Olympic Organizers Say CEQA Exemption Isn't Necessary to Streamline Transit Projects

The strange world projects exempted from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act got a little stranger this week.

September 7, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Stormwater Infrastructure

The Changing Paradigm of Stormwater Management

In the past, stormwater management has been about flood control. The future of stormwater, however, is in capturing, treating, and recharging water supply, according to this article.

September 6, 2017 - Maven's Notebook

San Francisco Construction

Connecting the Dots Between Air Pollution and Congestion

Some of the San Francisco neighborhoods with the worst air quality are also the San Francisco neighborhoods with the most development.

September 6, 2017 - San Francisco Chronicle

Hangar One

NASA Wants to Build 1,930 Rental Units in the Silicon Valley

NASA Ames wants to add a lot of housing to a 45-acre site at Moffett Field in the Silicon Valley. The new housing would give NASA employees more housing options in an expensive and impacted market.

September 5, 2017 - The Mercury News

San Francisco

Houston and San Francisco: Urban Development Patterns Gone Awry

With the media rightfully pointing to Houston's sprawling urban development patterns that exacerbated the epic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey, Paul Krugman also finds fault with cities where urban development is too tightly regulated.

September 5, 2017 - The New York Times - Opinion

Oregon Launches EV Rebates Funded by Auto Sales Tax

Oregon is one of five states that has no sales tax, but that will change on January 1, with Gov. Kate Brown's signature on a landmark transportation funding bill that applies a half-cent sales tax to auto sales and increases gas taxes by 10 cents.

September 1, 2017 - Planetizen

California's Low Unemployment Hides High Levels of Poverty

Because of its high cost of living, California has the nation's highest poverty level, according to the U.S. Census.

September 1, 2017 - CALmatters

San Francisco Bay

White Communities in the Bay Area Don't Plan as Much Low-Income Housing as Their Neighbors Do

Goals for low-income housing were lower in majority white cities and communities than they were in their more diverse neighbors.

September 1, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Affordable Housing

The Unequal Distribution of Public Housing Across Los Angeles

KPCC has published an interactive map showing the publicly funded affordable housing developments in Los Angeles County.

August 31, 2017 - KPCC

Traffic

U.S. Drivers Continue Mileage Increase for Sixth Consecutive Year

Americans have increased their driving every year since 2011, and the first six months of 2017 were no different, increasing 1.6 percent compared to last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Highway Administration.

August 30, 2017 - Federal Highway Administration

BART East bay

Where BART's New Extension to the Fringe Went Wrong

This story begins and ends with a freeway.

August 29, 2017 - The Bay City Beacon

Electric Car

How Much Is Too Much for a State Electric Vehicle Rebate?

Battery electric vehicles (without gas tanks) are eligible for a $2,500 California rebate, on top of the federal $7,500 tax credit. A bill before the state Senate would quadruple it.

August 29, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

The End of Redevelopment Worsened California's Housing Crisis

Anthony York performs an autopsy of how decisions made by Governor Jerry Brown and the California Legislature during the Great Recession are influencing the housing market, nearly a decade later.

August 28, 2017 - Pacific Standard

Nation's First All-Electric Bus Route Launches in Stockton, California

A city once infamous for municipal bankruptcy is now setting a standard for public transit technology.

August 26, 2017 - Capital Public Radio

Bay Area Rapid Transit

Housing, Transit Crunches Collide in the Bay Area

The New York Times explores the Bay Area housing crisis through one woman’s three-hour commute.

August 25, 2017 - New York Times

New Bay Area Commuter Rail Service Begins Today

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) train is set to start service Friday, running between Sonoma and Marin Counties in the Bay Area. Future extensions are planned that to take it to Larkspur for ferry service to San Francisco.

August 25, 2017 - SF Gate

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.

Comprehensive Bikeway Design Workshop

Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University

Early Bird Deadline – save on your tuition fee!🚨

Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)

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.