California

Scientists have created sounds from air pollution data that allow listeners to hear the striking differences and similarities between the air we breathe in America's most polluted city and remote pine forests.

September 13, 2012 - The Atlantic

"It's like the gardener's version of graffiti," says one. In San Francisco, activists hope to transform once-purely ornamental street trees into fruit-bearing ones, to provide fresh fruit to the local community.

September 13, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

William Heisel kicks of a series examining the infectious disease more common than AIDS, hepatitis, or Lyme disease. What environmental elements are contributing to its spread and what can planners and public health officials do to respond?

September 12, 2012 - Reporting on Health

As the L.A. City Council prepares to consider final approval for a proposed downtown football stadium and renovated convention center, Jim Newton ponders to what extent community groups will be able to leverage the fast-tracked approvals process.

September 12, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Continuing to chronicle what he sees as an 'urban migration' from suburban office parks, Richard Florida provides the Bay Area illustration of this movement, as he sees the center of Silicon Valley heading to San Francisco from Santa Clara County.

September 12, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

While the housing crash may have temporarily halted the dramatic growth in downtown LA's residential sector, new retail and restaurant openings continued. Now, as the housing market recovers, developers are clawing to get back to building residences.

September 12, 2012 - Los Angeles Downtown News

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. The "first in a new generation of American rail systems" when it was built, BART now faces the challenges of declining health and keeping up with the times.

September 11, 2012 - San Francisco Chronicle

It's a mere 12 units but a huge test for apartments with no auto parking but plenty of bike parking. The 5-story, mixed-use Mission District building was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission on Sept. 6 despite neighborhood opposition.

September 11, 2012 - Streetsblog San Francisco

California's Central Valley was one of the areas hardest hit by the Great Recession, with several of its cities still burdened by the worst unemployment rates in the country. Signs in Bakersfield, however, point to a burgeoning boom.

September 11, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

The recent bankruptcy of the California city of Mammoth Lakes - brought on by a $43 million court decision in favor of a developer - is an extreme example of the cost of land use disputes. But it's indicative of a widespread problem in the state.

September 10, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

With the number of days of 'extreme heat' on the rise, and dramatic increases projected, will global warming melt the Golden State?

September 8, 2012 - Grist

If Gov. Jerry Brown signs AB 2245, a bill which will exempt bike lanes from the CA Environmental Quality Act until 2018, opponents of these lanes will be deprived of a major tool to delay these projects that may accompany controversial 'road diets'.

September 8, 2012 - Streetsblog San Francisco

A new study out today ranks America's cities by their racial diversity. In general, the study found that "the country has become much more diverse at the metropolitan level," reports Conor Dougherty.

September 7, 2012 - The Wall Street Journal

Jerry Meral, Deputy Secretary of Resources in California, discusses balancing myriad stakeholders and goals in pushing for Governor Brown's controversial Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta plan.

September 6, 2012 - The Planning Report

Ian Lovett looks at efforts to reform CEQA, California's landmark environmental law. Decried as easily abused, and an impediment to economic development, bipartisan attempts to reform the law are making enemies out of allies.

September 5, 2012 - The New York Times

Impatient with the rate at which previously approved sales tax increases are able to fund the vast expansion planned for the region's transit system, and lacking in federal support, local leaders are asking LA's voters to extend a 1/2 cent sales tax.

September 5, 2012 - the transport politic

When California's carbon market launches in November, it will become the second-largest in the world. A test auction conducted this week with 150 of the companies to be involved in the program went off without a hitch.

August 31, 2012 - Grist

Riding a tide of environmental consciousness and self-sufficiency, the urban agriculture movement is gaining momentum in California. Urban farmers have been lobbying for zoning and other city regulations to bring an underground hobby into the light.

August 31, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

This week, Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation intended to increase public access to the L.A. River for recreational and educational purposes, reports Yosuke Kitazawa.

August 31, 2012 - KCET Departures

With the global success of the city's homegrown "parklets" program firmly established, the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts is hosting a series of "urban prototyping" festivals in S.F. in the hopes of finding the next DIY superstar.

August 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities