California

AIA Gold Medal Conferred to Julia Morgan, FAIA, at the 2014 AIA Convention

On the occasion of Julia Morgan, FAIA, AIA Gold Medal conferral, AIACC invited Sandhya Sood, AIA, to present a tribute.

June 29, 2014 - AIA California Council

Proposed River Bed Bike Path Would Connect Long Beach to Downtown Los Angeles

The Los Angeles City Council asked city engineers to explore an proposal that would close an 8.5-mile gap in a bike path that runs inside the Los Angeles River channel—connecting Long Beach to Downtown Los Angeles.

June 28, 2014 - KCET

Kern County Adopts Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy

Amanda Eaken details Kern County's new Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS). The new plan implements California's SB 375, which serves as the land use component of California's carbon emissions reductions goals.

June 27, 2014 - NRDC Switchboard

A stream of mobile apps

What Computer Scientists Can Teach Planners About Design

Architect Dave Hampton reviews the 2nd annual Urban Sciences Research Coordination Network workshop held June 11 in Chicago.

June 27, 2014 - UrbDeZine

Los Angeles Conservancy Announces 2014 Preservation Awards

From rancho barns to Howard Hughes's former aircraft factory, nine projects reflect the best in historic preservation in Greater Los Angeles.

June 26, 2014 - Los Angeles Conservancy

California Cracks Down on Beach Blocking Scofflaws

The California Coastal Commission has a powerful new tool to go after homeowners who block access to the state's beaches—the CC can now fine such scofflaws instead of taking them to court.

June 26, 2014 - KTLA5

FHWA Releases Findings for 'Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program'

If you build integrated walking and bicycling networks into a community’s transportation system, will people use it? That’s what Congress wanted to know nearly a decade ago when it established the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program.

June 25, 2014 - Federal Highway Administration

George Lucas Chooses Chicago for New Museum Site

Equal parts a stunning victory for Chicago and a breathtaking failure for San Francisco, "Star Wars" director George Lucas has selected Chicago as the site of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

June 25, 2014 - Chicago Tribune

San Francisco Parking

Monkey Parking is Monkey Business, Warns San Francisco City Attorney

A "cease-and-desist letter" was sent June 23 to MonkeyParking, a Rome-based tech startup that developed and markets an app that allows motorists to auction public parking spaces beginning at $5. The city attorney demanded shut-down by July 11.

June 25, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

SFPark Releases Data on Two-Year Pilot Phase

The SFPark two-year pilot has concluded, and the city recently released comprehensive data that make a good case for its success in almost every possible metric of parking management. Now can the city expand the program?

June 24, 2014 - S.F. Streetsblog

Environmentalists Settle Lawsuit on Plan Bay Area

Two down, two to go. Rarely has a regional transportation/land use plan been sued by so many diverse groups. Environmentalists settled with Bay Area regional planning agencies with assurances that the 2017 plan will better account for GHG reductions.

June 24, 2014 - Contra Costa Times

Is Los Angeles the Museum Capital of the United States?

Los Angeles County Planner Clement Lau continues his case for proclaiming the City of Angels as the museum capital of the United States.

June 23, 2014 - UrbDeZine

A Growing Body of Knowledge Examines Unauthorized Housing in Los Angeles

An academic look at unauthorized housing in the Los Angeles area: Interview of Jacob Wegmann by Los Angeles County Planner Jonathan Bell

June 21, 2014 - UrbDeZine

California Bullet Train

Calif. Governor Signs Game-Changing Budget for HSR, Transit, and Affordable Housing

Jerry Brown signed a $156.3-billion budget on June 20 that marks a new day for greenhouse gas-reducing transportation and sustainable communities projects due to new revenues from the state's cap and trade market now and, particularly, in the future.

June 21, 2014 - TransForm

New Data Quantifies the Reach of Airbnb

The San Francisco Chronicle published a sweeping portrait of Airbnb's operations within the city of San Francisco—from previously unreleased data to personal stories of renters.

June 20, 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle

Mapping the Toxic Emissions of the Los Angeles Basin

Knowledge is power when it comes to environmental justice, and a group of students from UCLA has recently armed residents of Los Angeles with a mapping tool that tracks the amount of toxins emitted by local factories.

June 20, 2014 - KCET

Agenda 21 Opponents Under the Microscope

Writing for Fortune magazine, David Morris examines the influence of the Anti-Agenda 21 movement, especially one of the movement's figureheads, Rosa Koire, who wrote the book "Behind the Green Mask: U.N. Agenda 21."

June 20, 2014 - Fortune Magazine

Ballot Measure would Tax House Flipping in San Francisco

Eric Young reports on a "Stop the Flip" ordinance that will appear on the November ballot in San Francisco.

June 19, 2014 - San Francisco Business Times

Great Streets? How about Healthy, Safe Streets?

Advocates and citizens in Boyle Heights, a historic and predominantly Latino neighborhood on the Eastside of Los Angeles, are hoping for more than economic development from the city's Great Streets initiative.

June 18, 2014 - KPCC

Three Transit Stations At-Risk in Cleveland's Opportunity Corridor Planning

Stations on the Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's Red Line are hanging in the balance due to funding shortfalls on the $331 million "Opportunity Corridor" that would build a five-lane, 3.5-mile boulevard between University Circle and I-490.

June 18, 2014 - Cleveland Plain Dealer

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.

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.