California
California Population Grows to 39,810,000 in 2017
California added 309,000 residents last year, an 8 percent drop compared to annual increases since 2010. The state added a net 85,000 housing units, accounting for losses to wildfires.
Why Equity Groups Opposed California Legislation to Increase Housing Production
YIMBYs don't understand poverty, claimed one social justice group. Few, if any, connections with equity groups and too many with tech companies may have helped doom SB 827's chances of making it to first base in the legislature this year.
Contractor Allegedly Lays 3 Miles of the Wrong Steel; Delays for S.F.'s Central Subway Ensue
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ordered high-strength steel to ensure the long-term quality of the under-construction Central Subway. The contractor laid 17,000 linear feet of standard-strength steel anyway.
Homeless Shelters a Tough Sell With Neighborhood Activists
A plan to streamline approval of a wave of homeless facilities in the city of Los Angeles is running into an early snag with an emergency shelter proposed for a parking lot in the Koreatown neighborhood.
Are You Ready for a Sky Full of Autonomous Flying Taxis?
Some lucky people could be flying over traffic in autonomous drones within two years, according to a media blitz this morning.
California as a Model for Housing Legislation
The Golden State may have the nation's most severe housing crisis, but there is one area of state housing policy where it shines, becoming a model for other states that want to advance accessory dwelling units, also called granny or in-law units.
California to Require Solar on New Residential Buildings
The California Energy Commission will decide on new energy standards for residential construction this week.
Op-Ed: 'Public Mood' Has Turned Against Cars in Cities
A survey of recent planning decisions demonstrates that cities are no longer necessarily looking to more and bigger highways to solve their traffic problems.
Sacramento Debuts On-Demand Transit Service
Sacramento Regional Transit's SmaRT Ride service is an on-demand public option to compete with Uber and Lyft.
Report Details Racial Inequality in Four Cities
Five decades after the Fair Housing Act, racial inequality is still rampant in American cities. Trulia and the National Fair Housing Alliance collaborated on this report on four of them.
California and 16 States Sue EPA Over Decision to Rollback Vehicle Emissions Rule
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt had announced the rollback of greenhouse gas emission and fuel economy standards on April 2. While the auto industry supports the move, not all auto executives agreed.
The One Tech Company That's Engaging In California's Housing Debate
While tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple have approached the Bay Area's housing crisis gingerly the CEO of Yelp has thrown himself into the YIMBY movement. His activism says a lot about the real world and the virtual world.
New Housing Law Empowers Renters Group to Sue Cities that Deny New Construction
The California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund, unlike other renters groups, sees increased housing production as key to bringing down rents. It is enforcing the Housing Accountability Act in cities that arbitrarily deny new construction.
A Planner Goes To City Hall
Longtime planner and journalist Bill Fulton took on a side-project in the 2000s: a seat on the city council and then mayorship of the city of Ventura, California. Fulton's new book Talk City offers a real-time account of local politics.
Train Buffs: Do You Know What a ZEMU Is?
In addition to commuter trains hauled by an electric or diesel-powered locomotive, there are EMUs and DMUs, and come 2021, for the first time in North America, there should be a ZEMU thanks in part to a $30 million California transportation grant.
Where the Economic Recovery Has Been Most Inclusive
Across racial and economic lines, not all cities are recovering equally.
The Best Option in a Housing Crisis: Build More
Some oppose housing on the grounds that building in expensive cities just makes more homes for rich people. According to and, while there's some truth to that, adding housing beats the alternative.
$4.3 Billion Awarded to California Transformative Projects from Gas Tax and Climate Fund
Two difficult votes last year, both requiring super-majorities, are paying huge dividends to 28 transformative projects throughout the Golden State to improve rail and transit service and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Electric Vehicles to Lose Important Perk in Southern California
One of the major reasons for purchasing an electric vehicle in California is the ability to use a carpool lane as a solo driver and use an express lane toll-free. The latter perk will soon disappear for solo-occupant EVs on two freeways.
An Aerial Tram Could Carry Fans to Future Dodgers Games
A coach suspended from a cable (like a big gondola or ski lift) has been proposed by private company Aerial Rapid Transit Technologies, to bring fans to Chavez Ravine in 2022.
Pagination
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