California

With $8 billion almost in hand (the $4.5 billion in state bonds still need to be sold), the most formidable immediate hurdles are dealing with five lawsuits facing the High Speed Rail Authority. Mike Rosenberg reports that progress has been made.

July 14, 2012 - San Jose Mercury News

As the third California city in a month files for bankruptcy protection, fears of a domino effect worry many. While bankruptcy may seem like an enticing solution, officials that have gone through it caution about the downside.

July 13, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Jeremy Rosenberg examines why Thomas Jefferson may have had more of an impact on the development of Los Angeles than you might suspect. The city's street grid can be traced back to this American founding father.

July 13, 2012 - KCET

As plans progress in many large cities to cap their below-grade urban freeways, smaller cities, like Ventura, California, are looking to benefit from similar proposals.

July 12, 2012 - Ventura County Star

TIME's senior national correspondent posits that once the first shovel begins digging int the Central Valley, the $68 billion project will be hard to stop, regardless of the fact that no federal funding awaits as long as the GOP controls the House.

July 12, 2012 - Time

After a much heralded vote on July 6 in the state Senate, the embattled CA high-speed rail project is now eligible to receive $7.9 billion in state and federal funds, but formidable obstacles remain, not the least of which is finding $60 billion.

July 10, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Award-wining author Taras Grescoe pens an opinion piece for the Los Angeles Times in which he makes an argument that may surprise many Angelenos - that their city is at the cutting edge of forward-thinking transportation planning in the U.S.

July 9, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Alexandria Abramian Mott spotlights several grassroots ways -- from signs to screams -- in which "fed-up residents are reclaiming their streets, or at least trying to."

July 9, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Rebecca Solnit poses that yes, inserting food gardens into the urban landscape results in more local fruits and vegetables, but the more important crops are things like hope, justice, and community.

July 8, 2012 - Orion Magazine

Without a vote to spare, the CA state senate voted to authorize $5.8 billion to begin construction in the Central Valley of the nation's first true HSR system. The assembly passed the bill earlier in the week.

July 7, 2012 - Capitol Alert (Sacramento Bee blog)

A June panel, ‘Experiencing Healthier Places’, at the AIA Design Conference in LA looked at the roles that professional planners and architects can have in fostering a healthier society through the built environment.

July 6, 2012 - The Planning Report

Planners in major urban areas have long been touting the virtues of density, mixed use, and public transit. But can these smart growth principles apply in a wilderness area dedicated to seasonable tourism?

July 5, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

Richard Close, a member of the Oversight Board supervising the dissolution of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, discusses the challenges of defining 'enforceable obligations' and the legal battles he anticipates in the coming year.

July 3, 2012 - The Planning Report

A new report by Oakland, CA nonprofit Urban Strategies Council reveals that a massive surge has occurred in investor-speculator ownership in the city's low-income neighborhoods in the wake of the foreclosure crisis.

July 2, 2012 - InfoAlamedaCounty.org

The alternative plan directs a sizable percentage of the initial $6 billion allocation to the Bay and LA regions to upgrade existing commuter lines at the expense of greater investment in the Central Valley. Funding plan may be determined by July 6.

July 2, 2012 - California Watch

Should Los Angeles be investing more in bus-rapid transit?

July 2, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

The court set a standard of "reasonable anticipation" that improved cleaner technologies will be developed, allowing government agencies to set more stringent standards for that anticipated future.

June 29, 2012 - Governing

Economist David Birch coined the term "gazelle" to refer to small businesses that double their size every four years. Charlie Gandy says these gazelles are incredibly useful when it comes to placemaking.

June 29, 2012 - Project For Public Spaces

In pollution-heavy San Joaquin Valley of California's Central Valley, some cities are considering replacing Fourth of July fireworks with laser light shows. Locals aren't so sure.

June 28, 2012 - Governing

A Los Angeles-based farming company aims to bring fresh, locally grown food to communities all around the city and transform their work into a political statement to shine a spotlight on sustainable practices.

June 27, 2012 - Good