California
'Virtual Subways' and Suggested Solutions to L.A.'s Transit Problem
Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus offers broad suggestions for fixing public transit in L.A.
Delays Ahead for Orange County's Ambitious Park
Nearly five years and $200 million in, contruction has barely begun on the Great Park of Orange County, planned to be as ambitious as New York's Central Park.
The City That Avoided Gentrification
Howard Ahmanson poses the idea that Los Angeles might be the least gentrified city in the U.S., with a history of white flight south and immigrants improving their own neighborhoods and holding on to them.
Mini-Homes for Homeless
A Fresno, CA architect has designed and built a number of tiny buildings made out of recycled materials as homes for the homeless, but has yet to find a site that will take them.
Pedophile Island
A gubernatorial candidate in California wants to take one of the Channel Islands (a national park) and make it a place to dump pedophiles, with their own separate society.
L.A. Has More Bike and Ped Share Than Portland
Ryan Bradley takes a walk across Los Angeles to reflect on the city's transportation history.
City Going Broke Maintaining Public Spaces
The City of Walnut, California says it is shelling out $300,000 a year to light streets and maintain public parks and plazas. The property tax assessment that is supposed to pay for maintainance hasn't been increased since the 1990s.
Building Boom In Land Of Foreclosures
It seems inconceivable - building new homes next to new, vacant homes, but with depressed prices for land and labor a new market for home-buyers who missed out on foreclosure sales has developed in states hit worst by the housing crisis.
Streets Improved, And Now the Bill
A variety of road and streetscape improvement projects in San Francisco are reviving the city's streets. But now, the city has to ask itself whether it wants to keep paying for these improvements.
"Funky, Casual" Urban Market Coming to Downtown San Jose
Former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery is heading up an ambitious project to transform a mediocre public space into a Granville Market for Silicon Valley.
Schwarzenegger Loots Redevelopment Agencies
A Sacramento State Court gave the Governor permission to redirect money from local redevelopment agency funds to prop up local education.
The Urban Jungle, Expressed Literally Through Art
Los Angeles developer Barry Shy commissioned a muralist to paint an "urban jungle" in the lobby of his new residential high-rise. He got lions and waterfalls snuggled up against the downtown LA skyline.
Sidewalk Busted? Fix it Yourself
The city of Los Angeles is considering a plan to stop paying for repairs to broken sidewalks and driveways, shifting the economic burden to property owners.
Mix of Successes and Failures for Pedestrian Malls
New York's Broadway goes pedestrian, while Sacramento's K Street goes back to having car traffic. Are pedestrian plazas a relic of the past, or the wave of the future?
Peak Hour Parking Pricing Working In Greenwich Village & Brooklyn
Marketplace reports on the parking market from NYC. Peak hour parking is being applied on Sixth Ave in Greenwich Village as a trial to increase parking availability and decrease congestion. Due to positive results, it's now being tried in Brooklyn.
City Planners Caught in Porn Scandal
Three planners and the zoning administrator in San Francisco's Planning Department are accused of circulating raunchy emails around the office and are at risk of losing their jobs.
The Urban Jungle, Expressed Literally Through Art
Los Angeles developer Barry Shy commissioned a muralist to paint an "urban jungle" in the lobby of his new residential high-rise. He got lions and waterfalls snuggled up against the downtown LA skyline.
Economic Woes Decimate Planning Departments
The budget crisis in California, as elsewhere, has forced planning departments statewide to bid farewell to valuable staff members and come up with creative ways to handle caseloads.
A Crowdsourced Tree Census for Cities
GOOD points us to a new project that harnesses the power of citizens to create a census of trees in San Francisco.
California Bill Would Allow Personal Vehicle Sharing
Does your car sit unused for long periods of time? A proposed law in California would allow you and your car to be part of a unique car-sharing system.
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
