California

A Comprehensive Examination of the Bay Area Housing Crisis

The Google Bus protests got the media’s attention, and the Ellis Act has politicians' attention, but the Bay Area’s current tech-housing-gentrification crisis is a big, complicated mess.

April 16, 2014 - TechCrunch

Cities Map—and Track Benefits—of Urban Forest

OpenTreeMap allows cities to inventory trees and see the environmental and economic benefits.

April 16, 2014 - FastCompany Exist

CA Court of Appeals: Some Projects Require 'Urban Decay' Mitigation

When a new shopping center may leave existing retail areas short of business, a California court has ruled that mitigations of "urban decay" must be spelled out up front.

April 16, 2014 - California Planning & Development Report

Beyond Oil: Trains Turn to LNG Fuel and Hybrid Locomotives

According to a new EIA report, the cost advantages of liquefied natural gas make it an attractive alternative to diesel fuel for major U.S. freight railroad companies. Hybrid diesel-electric locomotives on order for 5 states will power HSR routes.

April 16, 2014 - Progressive Railroading

Coming this Summer: Airbnb Will Collect Taxes in San Francisco, New York State

The ongoing saga of the tax and regulatory standing of Airbnb, the popular room rental app and poster child for the sharing economy, is evolving in San Francisco, Portland and the state of New York.

April 15, 2014 - SFGate

Real-Time Multi-Modal Way-Finding—Displayed in the Public Realm

The TransitScreen service has been around since 2012, but it’s latest product, real-time displays of all modes of transportation, can display in the public realm, providing a whole new level of interaction with the city.

April 15, 2014 - Fast Co. Design

Cloud Computing Company Will Have its Name in the Clouds above San Francisco

It is only fitting that Salesforce, whose logo is a cloud, won the naming rights to what will be the West Coast's tallest building when completed in 2017 where they will lease half the space. When the fog rolls in, that's all the workers will see!

April 14, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

My First Ride

How Well Does Light Rail Attract New Transit Riders?

The answer to the question in the headline is “not very.” Thirty years into the initial experiment, however, light rail has not been the game changer it was hoped to be.

April 13, 2014 - Atlantic Cities

Advocating a New Planning Covenant for Los Angeles

Two well-known Los Angeles civic leaders advocate a new framework for understanding the built environment and landscape of Los Angeles, setting a trajectory for sustainable development.

April 12, 2014 - The Planning Report

Santa Barbara sidewalk

Caltrans Really Is Becoming More Bike and Walk Friendly

News flash: California has become only the third state to endorse the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ (NACTO) Urban Street Design Guidelines to enable more walk and bike friendly projects such as protected bike lanes.

April 12, 2014 - NACTO

Mapping the U.S. Mexico Border Fence

Journalists at the Center for Investigative Reporting undertook the herculean task of mapping the extent of the secretive and sometimes strange fence between the United States and Mexico.

April 11, 2014 - Center for Investigative Reporting

Street Parking as Car Share Incentive

SFMTA is allowing three car share services: Zip, Get Around and the non-profit CityCar Share to receive designated access to up 450 street and city garage parking spaces in order to promote car sharing as an alternative to auto ownership.

April 11, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

EVs, Carpool Lanes, and Affirmative Action: Where's the Connection?

Call it the factionalization of retribution politics in California. When Asian American Democrats dropped their support for an affirmative action measure for education, African American and Latino Dems responded, and new Volt owners lose.

April 9, 2014 - The Sacramento Bee

Oil, Oil Everywhere, But How to Tap?

At 15 billion barrels, California's Monterey Shale is said to hold the nation's largest deposit of recoverable oil. The only problem is that its extraction has not proven to be economically profitable. Blame it on the shale's unique structure.

April 8, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

'Living Innovation Zones' Activate Public Space in San Francisco

San Francisco recently launched the Living Innovation Zones program to generate space-activating public art installations around the city. The city hopes the program will create “catalysts for exploration, innovation and play.”

April 7, 2014 - The Architect's Newspaper

Santa Monica

Developing the First Well-Being Index for Cities

Santa Monica, California is working to become the first city to develop a first well-being index for its residents. The index will help the city’s government measure and serve citizen happiness.

April 6, 2014 - Fast Co.Exist

What Does Lynch’s 5 Elements Reveal About Oakland, CA?

Using Kevin Lynch’s approach to analyzing the image of cities, Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau explores Oakland and reveals a city that is quite different than it's public image.

April 6, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Strategies for Big Cities to Streamline Development Services

Kevin Keller, Director of Planning and Housing Policy under Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, provides insight into the city's development services reform.

April 4, 2014 - The Planning Report

San Francisco Legalizes Rental of 'In-Law Units'

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted earlier this week to allow property owners to rent “in-law units”—a major policy departure that could add tens of thousands of rental units to the constrained San Francisco real estate market.

April 3, 2014 - SF Gate

Moving the Hollywood Fault to Suit Developers

Morris Newman sees the lighter side of complaints over a new state geology map that puts an earthquake fault under some big real estate plans.

April 3, 2014 - California Planning & Development Report

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.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA

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.