California
California's Solar Power is Going to Waste
Blessed with an abundance of sun, California is trying to figure out how to deal with a glut of solar energy.
Exposé: Development Obstruction in Los Angeles
Homeowners groups use their influence to extract payments and concessions in Los Angeles.
More Fuel Cell Vehicles for Lease in 2017
Fuel cell electric vehicles are gaining a following in California, but nowhere else in the U.S. for the simple reason that almost all hydrogen fueling stations are located in the Golden State. Sales, or leases, are expected to jump this year.
Friday Eye Candy: See California's 'Super Bloom' Via Satellite
What a difference a wet winter makes.
Lawn Sign Liberalism
Seeing "No Matter Where You're From" signs in liberal-leaning towns makes me both smile and cringe. Why? Because I know the tolerant message belies the real feelings many have towards neighbors, not from other countries, but "other" neighborhoods.
San Diego Controversy Exhibits Disconnect Between Citizen Advisors and Planning Staff
A community plan update and a development proposal have led to hurt feelings and flared tempers in San Diego.
California Fixed Gov. Schwarzenegger's Vehicle License Fee Revenue Gap
An old wound is mitigated thanks to two Democratic legislators from Riverside County who made it clear from the onset what it would take for them to sign-on to the Road Repair and Accountability Act, California's historic fuel tax and fee increase.
Movie Review: L.A. Urbanism via Jonathan Gold’s Culinary Mapping
A new documentary film about L.A. Times food critic Jonathan Gold turns out to be an excellent film for urban planners through the culinary mapping of Los Angeles. L.A. County parks planner, Clement Lau, reviews the movie.
Nextdoor Looking to Expands its Influence on Local Politics
A decade into its history, the hyperlocal social media site Nextdoor is looking for feedback and hoping to expand its reach before the 2018 and 2020 elections.
How Apple's Headquarters Got More Parking Spaces Than Employee Spaces
Parking is back in the news, with a high-profile case study: the new spaceship-shaped headquarters of Apple in Cupertino has devoted a larger footprint to parking spaces than office space.
Best Fuel to Power Buses: Renewable Natural Gas or Battery-Electric?
Next month the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Authority will decide what type of buses to purchase to replace 1,000 aging diesel buses. Two op-eds in the Los Angeles Daily News present alternative viewpoints.
Oakland Hoping to Provide Safer Pedestrian Infrastructure at Construction Sites
"Every reasonable effort should be made to avoid and minimize construction impacts on pedestrian, bicycle, and bus facilities in Oakland," according to a guidance released by the city of Oakland earlier in 2017.
A Big Legal Win for the Climate Change Fight in the Golden State
The nation's only state-run cap-and-trade program survived a legal challenge by the California Chamber of Commerce and the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation when a state court of appeal ruled 2-1 that the program doesn't amount to an illegal tax.
California's Record Fuel Taxes Hike Passes Legislature in One Day
On April 6, the Senate and Assembly passed a comprehensive transportation funding package that it had been unable to do for years, thanks to much deal-making by Gov. Jerry Brown. The gas tax will increase by 12 cents per gallon on November 1.
Infill Development is Key to Meeting California's Emission Reduction Law
If California is going to meet the new, steep emissions reductions required by a law passed last September, one of the most effective strategies will be to promote infill housing, according to a new report from University of California at Berkeley.
A Glimpse Into The Past On The Streets of Long Beach
Viewers installed throughout downtown Long Beach gives visitors a glimpse into the city's past.
Gas Tax Increases Have Their Limits
Even if newly revised transportation legislation supported by Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders to raise fuel taxes and fees should pass into law, the funding mechanism may not prove sustainable in the long term.
Bus Rapid Transit In Name Only
San Diego provides a case study for how bus rapid transit sometimes fails to meet the standards befitting its name.
Riders Are Ditching Buses for Trains Along Metro L.A.'s New Gold Line Extension
As ridership on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Gold Line light rail line continues to grow, duplicative bus lines are suffering.
Leading San Francisco Architect Picks a Fight With the City's Planning Department
Architects and planners have to work together, as everyone on both sides of the equation knows. Even though the fields often speak the same language, there still seem to be many moments and ideas lost in translation.
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
