California

Northridge Earthquake, 1994

Retrofitting Vulnerable Buildings Becomes Mandatory in Earthquake Prone LA..

Decades in the making, the Los Angeles City Council has approved regulations requiring the retrofit of vulnerable wood and concrete buildings.

October 12, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Charger Rage Hits Electric Vehicle Country in California

All is not copacetic in the Bay Area's EV community. An apparent shortage of electric vehicle chargers is causing incidents where EV owners disregard proper 'charging etiquette' and unplug the charger from other EVs to charge their own vehicle.

October 12, 2015 - The New York Times - Science

Jerry Brown

California Governor Jerry Brown Pessimistic on Affordability

Housing often costs a literal fortune in California, and Governor Jerry Brown doesn't see an easy fix. Demand to live in the state is high, but there are local factors at work impeding housing construction.

October 12, 2015 - San Francisco Business Times

Mercedes Benz Suburbs

Mercedes-Benz Bets on a Suburban Future

From a new Silicon Valley facility, Mercedes' R&D department is developing car-share services based on a vision of 21st-century suburbs. The company is also testing self-driving prototypes and electric models.

October 12, 2015 - GreenBiz

San Francisco Coit Tower Construction

Bay Area Warned: Millennials Will Leave if Housing Prices Don't Change

Millennials in the Bay Area are feeling priced out, and may bolt if they can't find housing they can afford.

October 11, 2015 - Next City

Watch San Francisco's Houses Transform Into Million Dollar Listings

A new study by Trulia quantifies the number of houses that broached the $1 million listing benchmark in the city of San Francisco between January 2010 and September 2015. A pretty/scary infographic illustrates the findings.

October 10, 2015 - Trulia

Mansionization Déjà Vu Reveals Differences of Opinion in Southern California

An editorial favors one local city's approach to mansionization over another's. When will they ever learn?

October 9, 2015 - Pasadena Star-News

BART Squeezing Every Inch of Capacity While Waiting for Reinforcements

BART expanded service in September in a display of the lost art of making the most of what they've got.

October 9, 2015 - San Francisco Chronicle

Ambitious Subway Agenda Endorsed by Transportation Secretary Foxx

When San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener proclaimed last month that his city "should always have a subway under construction," there were many doubters due to the funds required and unlikelihood of federal support. "Aggressive" is good, says Foxx.

October 8, 2015 - San Francisco Examiner

When Too Many Farmers' Markets Are Too Much of a Good Thing

Few locations are such a natural fit for farmers' markets as Orange County—but the number of certified farmers' markets in the county are shrinking and others are struggling.

October 7, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

The 'Energy Atlas' of Los Angeles County Lets Planners and Citizens Track Energy Use

"Not knowing which kinds of buildings consume what is like not being able to gauge differences between a diesel truck and a hybrid car."

October 7, 2015 - CityLab

Report Grades California's Rail Stations on Neighborhood Service

A report by Next 10 takes the form of a scorecard for six light and heavy rail networks. Rail that serves existing urbanized areas scored the highest.

October 7, 2015 - Los Angeles Times

Self-Driving Buses Coming in 2016 to an Office Park in San Ramon, California

The self-driving future is coming sooner than you might have expected—to a suburban office park in California's Bay Area.

October 6, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News - Silicon Beat

More Americans Living Next Door to Fire Danger

A summer of drought and devastating fires has demonstrated the dangers of allowing residential developments to sprawl ever farther into wild, natural environments.

October 5, 2015 - CityLab

Bay Area Extreme Commuting for the Love of Larger, Affordable Single Family Homes

It's a tradeoff that 3.9 percent of the Bay Area workforce are willing to make to own an affordable home. It's often not even a choice between living in the city or the suburbs, but the close-in suburbs or the exurbs or San Joaquin Valley.

October 4, 2015 - San Jose Mercury News

Sierra Nevada Melted

Sierra Nevada Snowpack at 500-Year Low

Unusually scarce precipitation last winter has left little snow on the mountains, endangering a key California water reserve.

October 3, 2015 - KPCC

Cracked Sidewalk

Who Will Pay to Fix San Diego's Broken Sidewalks?

San Diego quest to find solutions to repairing damaged city sidewalks continues, with home and business owners potentially facing liability for trip-and-fall accidents

October 3, 2015 - Voice of San Diego

Will Public Art Revive the 'Champs-Élysées of Los Angeles'?

Once called the "Champs-Élysées of Los Angeles," MacArthur Park later became known for crime and prostitution. While it has yet to experience a revival like other L.A. parks, an unusual public art project has generated renewed interest in the park.

October 1, 2015 - UrbDeZine

Health by Design: Findings from ULI

A new ULI report finds that innovation in placemaking is about the inter-relatedness of health and the built environment.

October 1, 2015 - ULI San Francisco Blog

Traffic Deaths in California Continue to Rise—How to Stem the Tide

Traffic fatalities in California have been rising since 2010, rising to 3,104 in 2013 after decreasing from 2006 to 2010. Experts point to several specific reasons for the increase; one of the most prominent may be in your hand right now.

September 30, 2015 - The Sacramento Bee

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.