California

New Housing Starts Reveal Shift Toward Multi-Family Housing Construction

AP reports on the Anderson Forecast from UCLA that looks into CA's housing slump and shows two distinct markets, one on the rise and the other (single-family housing) falling.

June 16, 2011 - AP via Bloomberg Business Week

Megaprojects Approved in San Francisco

Two major redevelopment projects - Treasure Island and Parkmerced - have been approved after a lengthy process by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors.

June 16, 2011 - The Architect's Newspaper

New City Planned For Unlikely Corner of California Desert

Travertine City would house 35,000 residents on the shores of the Salton Sea, California's largest - and most unpleasant - body of water. Developers claim that it will be a model of sustainability. "

June 14, 2011 - California Planning & Development Report

Designing New Parks for Los Angeles

One of the most park-poor major cities in the U.S., Los Angeles is in the midst of a slight park renaissance, with a few new major projects in the works. A new exhibition looks at the state of new parks design in L.A.

June 14, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

California Town Recommended for Dissolution

The Kern County grand jury concludes that Maricopa no longer has the resources to maintain its status and duties as an incorporated city. One example includes accepting an $8,000 loan from a tow truck operator to make City payroll.

June 12, 2011 - Bakersfield.com

Three Model Cities Seattle Can Learn From

Los Angeles, Cincinnati and San Francisco are tackling major urban problems quickly and effectively. This post argues that Seattle can learn much from these efforts.

June 12, 2011 - Crosscut

Treasure Island Project Approved in San Francisco

A massive new neighborhood planned for the man-made former military site of Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay has been unanimously approved by the city's Board of Supervisors.

June 9, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

Steve Jobs Pitches New Apple Campus

Last night Apple CEO Steve Jobs pitched plans for a new campus development to the Cupertino city council.

June 9, 2011 - Huffington Post

Kotkin Compares California to Iran

Calling California's attempts at environmental responsibility a "green jihad," Joel Kotkin argues that the state's "ideological extremism" has led to illogical economic and political decisions - similar to those made in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

June 8, 2011 - New Geography

Tea Party Sinks Planning Meeting

Public outreach on SB 375, California's climate change bill, began last month in the San Francisco Bay Area. But the East Bay Tea Party had other plans.

June 8, 2011 - Contra Costa Times

Janette Sadik-Khan's Take on L.A.

Sadik-Khan writes a guest blog for Streetsblog on lessons Los Angeles could learn from New York's embrace of public spaces and streets.

June 7, 2011 - Streetsblog

Streamlining the Process on Public Projects

The L.A. County Department of Public Works was in a constant battle with its contractors, until they moved from the standard "design, bid, construct" to a "design-build" model.

June 6, 2011 - The Planning Report

Jerry Brown: Planning By Wandering Around

The California governor made an unscheduled appearance in front of the state's Strategic Growth Council -- unstaffed -- to find out what they're up to.

June 5, 2011 - California Planning & Development Report

Bike-Friendly Commuter RR Gets Bike-Friendlier

Mission Accomplished! Bike advocates had been lobbying Caltrain for a guaranteed two-bike car capacity ever since the first 'bike bump' occurred. The train San Francisco-San Jose has had a bike-friendly reputation since a 1992 pilot program.

June 4, 2011 - San Francisco Examiner

Last Month For Hybrids In CA Carpool Lanes

In Sept. 2005, eligible hybrid vehicles could use CA carpool lanes with only one occupant as an incentive to purchase them. The expiration date was extended by legislation twice, but DMV assures the 85,000 yellow decal owners it ends July 1.

June 3, 2011 - San Francisco Chronicle

Groundbreaking Climate Change Plan

Once a bastion of sprawl, the San Diego region is now embracing one of the most significant regional planning efforts in the nation's history. It is the first region in California to draft a Sustainable Communities Strategy, as mandated by SB 375.

June 3, 2011 - California Planning & Development Report

Understanding the Freeways of L.A.

In the latest installment of a year-long series about Los Angeles-focused books, Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne reads the 1981 book "L.A. Freeway: An Appreciative Essay," by David Brodsly.

June 2, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

Proposed Mega Project Would Curtain Iconic Hollywood Building

Revived plans to build a large mixed-use development in Hollywood next to an iconic building are awakening some concerns about the potential loss of historic character.

June 2, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

L.A. Metro Tracks Buses With New Tool

Los Angeles' public transit authority has joined those of other major U.S. cities in providing a real-time tool for checking to see how soon buses will arrive at specific stops.

June 1, 2011 - Los Angeles Times

The New Redevelopment

As redevelopment agencies face the chopping block in California, new legislation could allow tax increment financing districts to essentially replace them.

June 1, 2011 - Bondbuyer

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

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.