California
Critical Housing Bills Pass California Legislature on Final Day
The California legislature ended its season on Friday, handing Gov. Jerry Brown a third major victory. After passing landmark legislation earlier in transportation and climate change, a slate of controversial housing bills await his signature.
From Buses to Trains, Renewable Diesel Catches On in California
For almost two years, MUNI's diesel-powered buses in San Francisco have run entirely on renewable diesel fuel. Diesel-powered Amtrak trains running from San Jose to Sacramento could be next.
Getting Active: More Money for California Bike and Pedestrian Trails
Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1) will provide additional funding for bike and pedestrian projects. The influx of money means many shelved projects will now go forward.
How Overly Restrictive Land Use Regulations Hurt the Nation's Economy
Two economics professors from the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley argue that the housing crisis doesn't just affect booming coastal cities. It's a national problem.
Los Angeles Could Charge Non-Residents to Drive in Congested Areas
If this solution from a regional planning agency gains traction, New York City may have some competition to become the first American city to implement congestion pricing.
Experimental Nordstrom Store Will Have No Clothing for Sale
A California Nordstrom store will stock no clothing for customers to buy. Instead, it will let shoppers try on clothes in a curated environment and order anything they like to be sent to their homes.
Luxury High-Rises Sprout Alongside Los Angeles' Expanding Subway
Los Angeles' extended Purple Line subway may very well spur an extension of the "linear downtown" along Wilshire Boulevard. Luxury high-rises are the most conspicuous new arrivals.
Homeless People Could Pay the Price of Reno's 'Revitalization'
Reno is considering a law that critics say is a textbook example of the criminalization of homelessness and everyday life.
Coming to Terms With the Bay Area's Housing 'Death Spiral'
Prospects for solving the Bay Area's severe housing shortage look far off. Action on the state level may be one way to approach this crippling collective action problem.
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.
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.
$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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
