California

Ken Bernstein, Principal Planner for the City of L.A., explores how the expansion of transit in Los Angeles is changing how the department approaches its plans and the planning process.

February 1, 2012 - The Planning Report

A lawsuit based on the Americans With Disabilities Act may leave Los Angeles responsible for over a billion dollars' worth of crumbling sidewalks.

January 31, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Governor Brown claims not only that the project will cost less than the $100 billion currently estimated by the state, but that he's found a funding source to help pay for it.

January 30, 2012 - The Sacramento Bee

Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown announced reforms to the state's Environmental Quality Act that will ease approval for infill development and special projects. Josh Stephens provides the details.

January 30, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

Adrian Glick Kudler writes in Curbed LA about a feature in the February issue of Los Angeles magazine profiling 16 of the most classic types of L.A. houses.

January 30, 2012 - Curbed LA

Over the last two decades the city of San Francisco has systematically removed its public benches to fight homelessness. Now citizens are clamoring for their return.

January 30, 2012 - The New York Times

The CA Air Resources Board unanimously approved new rules that require 15% of new vehicles sold in the state to emit zero emissions and require conventional vehicles to reduce smog and climate emissions by 75% and 50%, respectively, by 2025.

January 30, 2012 - San Jose Mercury News

For the second time this week, the "Room For Debate" section of The New York Times is tackling an area of interest for planners. This time, High Speed Rail in California is up for debate by a series of contributors.

January 28, 2012 - The New York Times

In an effort to seek an 11th hour reprieve from the scheduled elimination of the state's redevelopment agencies, two consortiums of cities have filed lawsuits in Sacramento Superior Court, reports Josh Stephens.

January 27, 2012 - California Planning & Development Report

Jon Bruner profiles Los Angeles Department of Transportation Engineer Edward Yu, and the ATSAC system run by Yu and his team, which controls the timing of traffic lights at each of the city's 4,114 intersections.

January 27, 2012 - Forbes

Ariel Schwartz writes about Popuphood, a project aiming to dramatically revitalize the Old Oakland neighborhood by offering six months of free rent to five retail establishments on one block.

January 27, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

The San Francisco neighborhood of Chinatown temporarily removed parking from Stockton Street for a week during the busy Lunar New Year season. Aaron Bialick reports on the results.

January 26, 2012 - Streetsblog San Francisco

Yesterday the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a new ordinance meant to better tie planning for the county's unincorporated areas to positive public health outcomes.

January 25, 2012 - Curbed LA

With L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 'America Fast Forward' plan to fund 30 years of transportation improvements in 10 years going nowhere fast in Congress, Joel Epstein asks if the Mayor might be lining up our country's creditor-in-chief.

January 25, 2012 - The Source

A neighborhood in Tarzana, one of the few residential areas in Los Angeles County that allows raising livestock, battles developmental pressures. The latest proposal: razing five homes for an elderly care center.

January 25, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

As cyclists toured Watts and other parts of South Los Angeles, they were invited to share photographs and record places of interest along the way.

January 24, 2012 - Los Angeles Times

Tom Vanderbilt writes about the current crop of self-driving cars in Wired. "After almost a hundred years in which driving has remained essentially unchanged, it has been completely transformed in just the past half decade."

January 23, 2012 - Wired

Eric Jaffe writes of an article appearing in the January issue of the Journal of Urban History in which the forgotten story of a time when Hollywood's jealous co-star tried to claim her throne is re-told.

January 23, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Facing strong headwinds from citizens, legislators, and analysts, Governor Jerry Brown threw his unequivocal support behind the state's proposed high speed rail project in his annual State of the State address.

January 20, 2012 - The New York Times

Ron Nyren examines the various types of projects that will be negatively impacted by California's decision to abandon redevelopment.

January 20, 2012 - Urban Land