California

San Mateo Bikeshare

Nation's Newest Bike Share Perhaps the Smallest

What better day to launch a new bike share program than on Bike-to-Work Day? in the Bay Area, that day was May 12. The City of San Mateo launched Bay Bikes, with 50 bicycles at 11 stations. Now the region has two programs, the other being regional.

May 14, 2016 - KQED News Fix

Hyperloop One Hails its 'Kitty Hawk' Moment in the Nevada Desert

PBS kicks off its new science and technology series with a look at just what happened in the desert with MIT's Hyperloop team. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien likens the week's events more to the "glider moment" preceding Kitty Hawk.

May 13, 2016 - PBS NewsHour

San Francisco Coit Tower Construction

When Does Inclusionary Zoning Go Too Far? San Francisco Might Find Out

In June, San Francisco voters will consider a ballot initiative that will raise the affordable housing requirement of the city's inclusionary zoning from 12 to 25 percent. Even housing advocates are concerned Proposition C might go too far.

May 12, 2016 - CityLab

Los Angeles Smog Skyline Zoom

The Role of Planning in Fixing Los Angeles' Development Woes

Globe St. featured an exclusive interview with Gail Goldberg, executive director of the Urban Land Institute, Los Angeles Chapter, and former planning director of Los Angeles and San Diego.

May 12, 2016 - Globe St.

Bay Area Wetlands

Parcel Tax Measure Would Fund Climate Adaptation in Bay Area by Restoring Wetlands

Next month, along with picking presidential, U.S. Senate and legislative candidates, and local ballot measures in a primary election, voters in the Bay Area will also determine the outcome of the first regionwide measure in Bay Area history.

May 11, 2016 - KQED Science

Historical I-5 Freeway

The Backbone of Orange County

In the 1950s, southern Orange County, California was a place of open hills, citrus groves, and scattered towns. The I-5 Freeway changed that, paving the way for today's subdivisions.

May 10, 2016 - KCET

Gold Line alongside 210 Freeway

Parking Crunch Hits New Light Rail Station

The number of people parking at the new Gold Line light rail station in Azusa, California is outstripping the available supply of parking spaces, forcing many onto surrounding residential streets, which now has neighbors up in arms.

May 10, 2016 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

SF Muni

San Francisco Transit Advocate Platform: Get Anywhere in 30 Minutes

Transit riders in the famously small city of San Francisco (in geographic size, anyway) have set a goal to design and build a system that makes it possible to travel between any two points in the city in 30 minutes or less.

May 9, 2016 - Hoodline

The Greening of Large Trucks Begins at California's Ports

A Planetizen blog post by Casey Brazeal asks, "When will the trucking industry electrify?" Three truck manufacturers and electric truck builder BYD Motors are now in competition thanks to a $23.6 million state grant to the South Coast Air District.

May 9, 2016 - Fleet Owner

San Gabriel Mountains

19 Mansions May Be Headed to Los Angeles Wilderness

A fight is brewing over a plan to build 19 luxury homes on an expanse of wilderness in Los Angeles' San Gabriel Mountains.

May 8, 2016 - San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Bus Stop

Failed Public-Private Partnership Leaves Bus Stops With No Shade in Los Angeles

A 2001 contract between the city of Los Angeles and CBS Decaux failed to deliver 662 shelters for bus stops. A case study in what not to do on either side of a public-private partnership follows.

May 6, 2016 - KPCC

Carpool Lane

New Carpool Lanes Under Construction in Los Angeles County

The ongoing build out of carpool lanes in Los Angeles County continues. A five-mile stretch of I-10 in the eastern portion of the county—a commuter corridor and a corridor frequented for getaways from L.A.—will be adding new capacity.

May 5, 2016 - KPCC

Pumping Gas

Gas Delivery Straight to Your Vehicle. What Could Go Wrong?

Cities and fire departments around the country are struggling with the sudden explosion of start-ups promising to make your life easier by delivering gasoline straight to your vehicle.

May 5, 2016 - Bloomberg

Streetcar Graveyard

The Inevitable Rise of the Auto and Fall of the Streetcar in Los Angeles

A timely piece in The Guardian's City series looks at the demise of streetcars in Los Angeles, beginning with the Great American Streetcar Conspiracy. If only it was that simple.

May 4, 2016 - The Guardian Cities

Transbay Terminal Construction

As Price Tag Skyrockets, S.F.'s Transbay Terminal Needs a Bailout

Phase 1 of a project described as the "Grand Central Station of the West" has almost doubled in cost since 2008. Now San Francisco County Supervisors are considering a bailout of the project.

May 4, 2016 - San Francisco Examiner

The Mission Mural Gentrification

Helping Beloved Non-Landmarks Weather Gentrification in San Francisco

San Francisco is starting a program to recognize and protect long-standing local businesses based on their community value, not architectural significance.

May 3, 2016 - New York Daily News

Downtown Los Angeles from LADWP

Does Los Angeles Have What It Takes To Be a Leader for 21st Century Metropolises?

Brookings’ Bruce Katz explains how municipalities like Los Angeles can create thousands of jobs in advanced manufacturing through connecting planning, industry, innovation, and infrastructure efforts.

May 3, 2016 - The Planning Report

Bike Cops

Seattle Police Department Demonstrates the Versatile Uses of the Bicycle

A May Day march on Sunday that turned violent provided the opportunity for the Seattle Police Department to deploy its bike squad for crowd control, and in more ways than you might think.

May 3, 2016 - CBS This Morning

Presidio Park

San Francisco's New Park, Built Over a Viaduct

Designed by the same landscape architect behind New York City's High Line, a new park will cap San Francisco's Doyle Drive, connecting the Presidio to the shoreline.

May 2, 2016 - The Atlantic

Parking

Parking Benefit Districts Around the U.S.

As Pittsburgh moves forward on a parking management program to fund neighborhood improvements, take a look at how other cities have adapted this Shoup-inspired redevelopment strategy.

May 2, 2016 - Keystone Crossroads

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.

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.