California
Washington Adopts 'First-of-its-Kind' Carbon Reduction Rule
The state's unique Clean Air Rule is called 'cap-and-reduce.' Businesses that fall under the cap are required to reduce emissions, just like California's cap-and-trade program. However, they can not be forced to purchase carbon credits.

Study: Transit Not a Panacea for Walkability After All
One of the key assumptions of a new partnership between the planning and public health professions is that transit encourages more active mobility than possible with a car-centric lifestyle. But new research casts doubt on those assumptions.

Why California's By-Right Affordable Housing Proposal Died
California's average home prices are 2.5 times the national average and rising, so why is it so hard to build a political coalition to build more housing, and especially more affordable housing?
Southern California Power Grid Will Soon Back Up on a Tesla Battery
Tesla just won a competitive bid to supply utility-scale power in Southern California—providing security in the event of a catastrophe like the Porter Ranch methane leak.

Rent and Eviction Controls on the November Ballot in Six Bay Area Cities
Voters in six Bay Area cities in four Bay Area counties will determine the outcome of eight ballot measures on rent and eviction control. Two of the cities will have city council-sponsored measures competing against voter initiatives.

Fatal Flaw of Express Lanes?
Since transportation agencies decided to make carpool lanes available for non-carpoolers (toll-paying solo drivers or electric vehicles), they've become congested in some metro areas, which can violate federal conditions on their use.

11 Tickets Sold for the '49ers Express Train' to Levi's Stadium
Before last night's Monday Night Football game, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority reported that they'd only sold 11 season passes to the 49ers Express Train. To cover costs, the goal had been to sell 2,500.

Smart Street Modifications Lead to a Revitalized Downtown
Lancaster, California's investment in it's primary downtown thoroughfare has sparked a renaissance in its once ailing downtown.

High-Speed Rail: What's Good for Texas Is Good for California
It's becoming clear that Texas will beat California to having the first all high-speed train on the continent. Ethan Elkind suggests three ways that success for Texas Central's Dallas-to-Houston line will benefit the struggling California project.

Los Angeles Adds New Developer Fee to Pay for Parks
The city of Los Angeles has been improving its parks resources for several years, and a new funding mechanism should help continue that trend.

San Francisco Working on a New 'Subway Vision'
Planners in San Francisco have completed a public outreach process called Subway Vision. The goal is to create a framework for subway expansion in the city.

4 Ideas for Overhauling the Los Angeles Department of City Planning
A tradition as old as the Planning Department itself: proposing reforms to the planning and development approvals process in the city of Los Angeles.

L.A. Metro's Innovation Chief on the Appeal of P3s
The Office of Extraordinary Innovation at Los Angeles Metro is just over a year old. KPCC checks in.

Oakland's Lack of Affordable Housing Declared 'Public Health Crisis'
There's a physical cost to rising rents, and Oakland residents are paying the price.

Urban Growth Boundaries Gone Awry: Protection Without Infill
Joe Mathews of Zócalo Public Square views with a great deal of skepticism the urban growth boundaries the voters of Ventura County adjacent to Los Angeles County have enacted since 1995 due to the lack of infill. Another measure is on the ballot.

Google to Launch Rideshare in Bay Area
The service would operate through Waze, and take a different approach than Uber or Lyft.

Four Ways L.A. Metro Is Increasing Affordable Housing
A median-income family in the L.A. metro area spends 73 percent of their income on housing and transportation alone. L.A. Metro explains why and how they're taking huge steps to get affordable housing on land they own—where it will do the most good.

Theme Park Urbanism
An op-ed rejects a notion of urbanism that would find a home in Disneyland, for a version of urbanism that deploys the best efficiencies and benefits of the built environment.

State Law Paves the Way for More Granny Flats in California
The state of California stepped into to make it easier for local governments to approve permissive regulations of accessory dwelling units.
Over $14 Million Awarded to Eight Projects to Find Alternatives to Gas Taxes
The U.S. Department of Transportation is funding ways to transition from the gas tax to other user-based revenue mechanisms to fund transportation infrastructure. The federal gas tax hasn't keep pace with transportation expenditures since 2008.
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