California
Providing Services for Mixed-Use Buildings "Expensive"
Former Mayor of South Pasadena, CA Mike Montgomery is fighting new mixed-use development because he says "The cost of public safety and services exceeds the revenue generated."
Outsourced City
The City of Maywood, California has completely outsourced all of its civic services and turned local officials into contract workers. Though some worried the city would crumble, it's actually taken a turn for the better.
Former Naval Base Could Become City Property
A decommissioned Naval base in Concord, California, may be falling into the hands of the city -- a prospect few thought possible.
Reintegrating the Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River has long been forgotten by many of the city's residents and officials. GOOD's Alissa Walker takes a look at some plans to reintegrate the river into the city.
Are Marijuana Dispensaries "Stores"?
In tiny Myrtletown, California, the Hummingbird Healing Center is arguing that it doesn't need a conditional use permit to sell weed. The county does not agree.
New Park to Bloom Under Bay Bridge
Where the Bay Bridge touches down in San Francisco, a new plan is in the works to turn a motley collection of underused spaces into a vibrant park.
Friday Funny: Mooning Salute to Amtrak
A bet in the town of Laguna Nigel, CA lead to a 30-year tradition of dropping trou and letting it all hang out for passing Amtrak trains.
Whither City Planning In Los Angeles?
With the retirement of City Planning Director Gail Goldberg and ongoing budget problems gutting the department, a group of planners, developers, politicians, and advocates add their voices to the discussion on the future of planning in L.A.
Sacramento Chooses Practical Over Transformative in Downtown Revitalization
Spurning an elaborate but costly proposal to transform two blighted blocks of Sacramento's ailing downtown K Street mall the city council chose a less costly, mixed-use plan restore the blocks sooner with four story buildings and 256 housing units.
Can A New L.A. Park Please Everyone?
Christopher Hawthorne says that new Civic Park in downtown Los Angeles, which breaks ground this morning, "shows the strain" of trying to reconcile differing visions, but it also has "a coherent aesthetic identity."
From Bus Yard to Housing
A decades-old plan to convert a bus yard into a housing project has gained new momentum in San Francisco.
Brownfield Approved For Huge, Controversial Mixed-Use Redevelopment
By an 8-3 vote at 1:35 AM, July 14, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a plan to add 10,500 homes (32% affordable) on a 720-acre brownfield site known as Hunters Point, a former shipyard, including 320 acres of parkland and open space.
Road Diet Crash Reduction Variations Studied By DOT
This 4-page summary report (PDF) is a summary of a technical paper attempting to show differences in the reduction in road crashes that result from road diets.
S.F.'s Market Street Railway Celebrates Sesquicentennial
Carl Nolte, the San Francisco Chronicle's historian, writes on the 150-year anniversary of the Market St. Railway that began operation as a 2-car steam train on July 4, 1860, and the evolution of rail on/under Market St including BART & Muni Metro.
Foreclosure Rate Highest Among Wealthy
What's not known is how many of the homes are investments, or primary or secondary residences, but it's clear that the foreclosure rate for mortgages exceeding $1million is higher than for lower priced homes, according to the New York Times analysis.
The "Blunt Savvy" of Eli Broad
"For all of Eli Broad's consistent prominence on the public stage in recent years, the buildings he has helped develop make up a disparate, even contradictory group," writes Christopher Hawthorne as he describes the patron's philanthropic endeavors.
TOD Boom in L.A.
Light rail is expanding to Los Angeles' Westside, and with it is coming a wave of transit-oriented developments.
A Watershed Decision for the LA River
In a move to cement its importance as an urban waterway, the EPA declared the Los Angeles River a 'traditionally navigable waterway.'
Ciclovia Goes to Oakland for 'Oaklavia'
Oakland, California recently closed off two miles of city street to cars, creating a Bogota-inspired ciclovia, dubbed 'Oaklavia'.
A Prescription for TOD
Renata Simril, regional VP for national developer Forest City, describes the financing and policy mechanisms she sees as necessary to bring TOD to cities.
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
