California
Google Designs New Campus 'From the Inside Out'
Vanity Fair has published the first rendering of the design for the new "Googleplex", the first offices to be built by the tech giant from scratch.
Downtown L.A. Development: A Comprehensive Guide
From $100 million in upgrades to Dodger Stadium, to the decades-long effort to revitalize the Los Angeles River, to the construction of the tallest building west of the Mississippi, discover the status of 85 projects underway in downtown L.A.
Virginia Passes Controversial Transportation Bill
Over the weekend, Virginia passed a controversial transportation funding plan that replaces the state's gas tax with a combination of revenue streams. Two California economists look at the flaws with the plan.
Carbon Trading: A Tale of Two Continents
California's second auction saw a 35% increase in the price paid for a carbon pollution permit to $13.62, while prices at the much larger European market continue to fall and permits go unsold. The price there recently fell to $6.46.
San Francisco Embraces Gentrification
Unlike the 1970s and 80s, when a building boom created a vocal backlash, S.F.'s current surge in development hasn't galvanized a concerted no-build movement. If gentrification is driven by demand 'from the bottom up,' does that mean it's desirable?
L.A. Looks to Land Use to Improve Public Health
The newest craze for improving the health of Angelenos isn't an all-liquid diet or a Brazilian exercise regimen; it's a new approach to land use regulation being championed by the County and City of Los Angeles.
Is Car-Share a Friend or Foe to Environmental Concerns?
The Sierra Club has opposed an ordinance passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors that allows developers to add spaces above parking limits if they're dedicated to car-share vehicles. Does the plan violate the city's Transit First policy?
How Communities Are Fighting Transportation Injustice
Transportation costs disproportionately effect low-income families, while federal transportation spending biases affluent drivers over lower-income mass transit riders. Activists are utilizing civil rights legislation to challenge the status quo.
For L.A. to Thrive, it's Time to Think Small
L.A. stands at a critical juncture in the city's development, with an opportunity to embrace new patterns of land use that break with its postwar history. To seize this opportunity, the city will have to build incrementally, argues Peter Zellner.
Out-Migration: An Urban Conundrum
High cost of living and lack of jobs are driving urban populations out of cities, and simply increasing density requirements might not be enough to reverse the trend, argues Jim Russell.
Making Smoke-free Housing Laws Strong – but Humane
As cities and counties move forward with smoke-free housing laws, a different public health concern often gets lost in the shuffle: how to make sure these new laws don’t put low-income residents at risk of losing their homes.
SFMOMA Retrospective is a Love Letter to Lebbeus Woods
From February 16 to June 2, 2013, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is hosting a retrospective of the provocative architect's work from the last 35 years.
Can L.A. Transform a Notorious Housing Project into a Vibrant Mixed-Income Community?
Jessica Garrison reports on the ambitious $600 million "makeover" planned for the Jordan Downs housing project. The phased transformation, which allows any existing resident "in good standing" to stay, will be the largest such effort in the U.S.
S.F.'s Beleaguered Housing Authority Gets Gutted
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee took drastic measures to initiate a turnaround of the city's troubled Housing Authority on Friday by replacing all but one member of the city's Housing Authority Commission.
Demographer: Ideal California Population Would Be 20 Million, But....
...38 million people are already here, explains USC Professor Dowell Myers in response to the question, "Is California's growth slow-down a problem?" Myers new research is on the implications of the state's baby bust.
Design for Tallest Building in the West Unveiled
Roger Vincent shares the long-awaited design of the Wilshire Grand, a 73-story tower planned for downtown Los Angeles. When completed, it will surpass the nearby U.S. Bank Tower as the tallest building west of Chicago.
Postwar Suburbia from the Air
On Places, D.J. Waldie assesses iconic aerial photographs of Lakewood, California, one of the nation's first postwar planned communities.
Who Can Fill L.A.'s Design Leadership Vacuum?
While New York has benefited over the past decade from the design leadership of Michael Bloomberg, Amanda Burden, and Janette Sadik-Khan, Los Angeles sorely lacks such powerful champions. Sam Lubell asks who will step up for L.A.
Effort to Rethink San Francisco's 'Premier Street' Grows
Planning for the $350 million Better Market Street project, which aims to transform downtown's main thoroughfare into a transit and people-oriented place, has expanded to encompass surrounding streets.
L.A. Opens its First Pilot Parklet
With the opening last weekend of the city's first pilot parklet in the neighborhood of Eagle Rock, Los Angeles is hoping to join the ranks of cities hopping on the low-cost trend in public space creation.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority
