California

In a city known for luxuriously appointed and boldly designed single-family homes, an unlikely market for super-deluxe residences is growing. "Over-the-top" apartments attract residents who want an urban lifestyle without a long-term commitment.

December 20, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Will Kempton, former Caltrans chief under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger who subsequently headed the Orange County Transportation Authority, now heads Transportation California which has proposed an initiative to tax vehicles to fund infrastructure.

December 20, 2013 - Governing

Designer Deborah Sussman was drawn to Los Angeles in 1953 by an opportunity to work in the studio of Charles and Ray Eames. Over the next sixty years, she helped to define how residents and others see the city. A new exhibit chronicles her work.

December 18, 2013 - The New York Times

When California's 400 or so redevelopment agencies were shuttered in 2012, cities lost an essential tool for funding affordable housing and economic development. A new white paper from the ULI recommends new tools to stimulate balanced growth.

December 18, 2013 - The Sacramento Bee

Urbanists hope approving a proposal to allow a 23-acre parcel zoned for 500,000 square feet of office space be developed with 1.4 million square feet of mixed-uses could stimulate suburban retrofits across San Diego.

December 18, 2013 - Voice of San Diego

After an unsuccessful attempt in 2007, the City is at it again, but doing so in stages. Already in use in limited areas like City Hall and public housing projects, Monday's Market Street roll-out creates a nexus between wifi and surface transit.

December 18, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

A new study finds that within six months of opening, L.A.'s newest light rail line dramatically altered the travel behavior of those living within a half-mile of a station. Among those residents, rail ridership tripled and driving declined 40%.

December 16, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's annual bike count reveals that cycling has increased 14 percent in the city since 2011 and 96 percent since 2006.

December 16, 2013 - SFGate

After years of lower-than-normal population growth, more foreign immigrants are coming to California. The new residents contributed to a 332,000 increase in the state's population, the largest in nearly a decade, says the Calif. Dept. of Finance.

December 16, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles’s Union Station is trying something new to keep the homeless at bay: restricting waiting room seating to ticketed passengers.

December 15, 2013 - LA Streetsblog

There are no emissions of pollutants or noise from these electric buses that receive power from overhead wires; but it's the wires that are viewed by some as visual pollution. Powered from the city's hydroelectric dam, they are truly carbon-free.

December 15, 2013 - San Francisco Chronicle

Could Silicon Valley play a key role in alleviating San Francisco's growing affordability crisis? That's among the suggestions put forth in a new report from SPUR that outlines specific ways that San Jose could attract young professionals.

December 13, 2013 - SFGate

BART and its unions were tantalizingly close to resolving a long labor dispute two months ago when they reached agreement on a new contract. But a provision overlooked by negotiators has scuttled the agreement and sent both back to the drawing board.

December 12, 2013 - Sf Examiner

A judge has sided with three civic groups challenging a new community plan for Hollywood that permitted increased density around transit stations. In a tentative ruling, Judge Allan J. Goodman called the plan "fatally flawed".

December 12, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

With many oil pipelines stalled due to popular opposition and/or regulatory hurdles (e.g. Keystone XL and Northern Gateway, or even refineries opting for more flexibility) there seemed to be no end to the growth in moving oil by rail...until now.

December 12, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal - Business

Orange County, birthplace of the nation's first high occupancy toll (HOT) lane, may never see another. Not only did they reject a plan to add one (or two) toll lanes, to the 405 Freeway, legislation to ban them altogether may be introduced.

December 11, 2013 - Los Angeles Times

When California shuttered its hundreds of local redevelopment agencies, many believed a new (if smaller) system for funding affordable housing and development in blighted areas would soon follow. Two years later, the state is still waiting.

December 9, 2013 - California Planning & Development Report

This train is not steel wheels on steel rail - it is multiple two-wheeled rubber tires, commuting together, providing support and safety to novice cyclists, but sometimes it backfires. Interviewed is a frustrated motorist who intimidated them.

December 7, 2013 - NPR

Alison Prato speaks with architect Chris Downey, who lost his eyesight five years ago following surgery to remove a brain tumor, about how his approach to design and his experience of the city have changed.

December 7, 2013 - TED Blog

A pilot project hopes to pioneer a new type of investment by alleviating asthma among lower-income children. Project developers hope the Fresno Asthma Impact Model could become a national model for improving health and reducing costs.

December 7, 2013 - The Fresno Bee