California

Amid all the attention L.A.'s recent transit expansion and car culture receive, you couldn't blame the area's pedestrians for feeling like the odd ones out. But with the city’s first official pedestrian coordinators on the job, that may soon change.

November 5, 2012 - LA.Streetsblog

The Oct. 31 parade to honor the World Series-winning San Francisco Giants resulted in record-breaking numbers of riders taking BART, Caltrain, SF Muni and ferries to attend the parade who were accommodated by increased service. Why not continue it?

November 4, 2012 - San Jose Mercury News

Voters in S.F. will be given an opportunity to right a perceived 100 year old environmental wrong next week when they cast ballots on whether to develop a multi-billion dollar plan to drain Hetch Hetchy Valley, the city’s pristine water source.

November 3, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Critics of the proposed $500-million Southern California International Gateway, which is being touted as “one of the 'greenest' freight yards in the nation," contend it will actually reduce air quality and harm low income, minority residents.

November 1, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

For 10 years now, Michael Lejeune, Creative Director for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (M.T.A.), has made taking transit in L.A. seem a lot cooler. These re-branding efforts have contributed to a 38 percent increase in ridership since 2005.

November 1, 2012 - The New York Times

Tony Barboza discusses how the disappearance of expected funding has dimmed the City of Irvine's vision for turning the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro into "the first great metropolitan park of the 21st century."

October 31, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

The predicted "New Yorkification" of Hollywood appears to have finally found its incarnation in the proposal released last week to build twin 500- and 600-foot towers adjacent to the historic Capitol Records building.

October 30, 2012 - Curbed LA

Pershing Square occupies a special place in the physical and historical landscape of Los Angeles. But the city's first park has been the victim of poor redesigns and a "massive failure of civic vision." Can anything be done to fix it?

October 29, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

How to care for S.F.'s 110,000 street trees and 130,000 park trees was the subject of a hearing last week called by Supervisor Scott Wiener. The Department of Public Works is engaged in a controversial program to transfer care to property owners.

October 29, 2012 - The San Francisco Examiner

In 2008 Los Angeles voters passed a half-cent sales tax to finance construction of a new transit system. In November, Angelenos will decide whether to extend this tax to 2069, allowing Metro to borrow more in the short term and expedite construction.

October 26, 2012 - The Planning Report

What do all these seemingly unrelated elements have in common? They were just a few of the creative ideas for improving the urban environment showcased at the recent Urban Prototyping Festival held in San Francisco.

October 26, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

If you want to know something about Davis, CA, don’t go to the website of the local paper or the city, go to DavisWiki, a repository of all things Davis, written by the public. Thanks to a recent grant, could something similar be coming to your town?

October 26, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

An ordinance designed to help stop a Walmart "Neighborhood Market" from opening in L.A.'s Chinatown neighborhood fell short of the necessary votes at a City Council meeting held yesterday, reports Alice Walton.

October 24, 2012 - KPCC

Last week the San Francisco Planning Commission gave final approval for the 1,070-foot Transbay Transit Center tower, reports Mike Billings.

October 22, 2012 - The San Francisco Examiner

With the nation's first, broad application of cap & trade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions set to begin on January 1, The New York Times' environmental reporter Felicity Barringer writes about the key role of carbon offsets.

October 21, 2012 - The New York Times - Environment

Is waste disposal a local or regional issue? A new CA law written by a S.F. lawmaker nullifies a voter-approved Solano County measure that limits the amount of outside garbage their landfill can accept. It is being challenged by environmental groups.

October 20, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal - San Francisco Bay Area

City officials and leaders are considering an adaptive reuse ordinance for industrial buildings, modeled on the one that helped spark downtown L.A.’s residential boom, to help push forward the sputtering vision of a "CleanTech Corridor."

October 19, 2012 - Los Angeles Downtown News

The Clean Water Act turns 40 this week. For Mark Gold, this calls for a celebratory overview of the many environmental successes it has produced, as well as careful consideration of the steps needed for it to be effective in years to come.

October 19, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

In today's news of the ironic, and weird, an L.A. car dealer is developing a mixed-use "town center" adjacent to a future light rail station that will be anchored by their auto showrooms. The twist - they want to get people out of their cars.

October 16, 2012 - SantaMonicaPatch

"You think 50 cents in one week is bad - wait till the state adopts the Low Carbon Fuel Standard", warns one critic, predicting increases three times as much. The regulation was devised by the CA Air Resources Board to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

October 16, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle