California
Google and the Company Town
Google and the city of Mountain View, California have a unique relationship. The city is home to the search giant's headquarters, but the company is much more than a quiet tenant, according to this article.
Schwarzenegger Wants to Double Up
In an interview, Gov. Schwarzenegger revealed that the state is considering adding another layer of freeway on top of Los Angeles' 405.
Google Fights For Mixed-Use Near Campus
Google's headquarters in Mountain View, CA is not unlike many suburban office parks, but now the search giant is advocating for mixed-use development around their campus.
San Francisco Looks At Converting Parking to Public Space
Inspired by the home-grown Park(ing) Day parking spot conversion event, the city of San Francisco is launching a pilot project to convert street parking in its North Beach neighborhood to outdoor dining areas and public spaces.
Suburbs Get Taller, But Send Mixed Signals
Chicago's suburbs are growing taller, adding density and height like never before. Blair Kamin argues that these small towns are facing an identity crisis, stuck uncomfortably between city and suburb.
Turning a Golf Course into a Public Oasis
National City, CA has only 2 acres of public parks per 1000 residents, as opposed to the national average of 10 acres. A new plan proposes to transform a 44-acre golf course into an innovative new central park.
Hollywood Sign Edited in the Name of Preservation
With the threat of its sale bringing the prospect of hilltop housing development behind the city's most well-known icon, the hills near the Hollywood sign in L.A. have spurred local activists to drape a new anti-development message over the sign.
Inside Out: Mortgage Crises, Crime, and California
Writing for The New York Times, Timothy Egan takes a look at some of the empty cities that were abandoned after the housing crash, and why they will be the slums of tomorrow.
Water Diversion Plan Irks Northern Californians
A plan to divert water from Northern California to the state's agricultural heart in the drought-stricken Central Valley has residents and officials on the offensive.
California Plan Would Block Projects From Environmental Lawsuits
California is looking to fast-track a pilot project that would exempt some construction projects from environment-related legal challenges. It's a move aimed at speeding development and creating jobs, but critics say it will harm the environment.
Grade Crossing Policy Sparks Debate in Los Angeles
An op-ed by Los Angeles County Supervisor criticizes the Grade Crossing Policy employed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the recent approval of a light rail extension.
Preservation Win as Century Plaza Hotel Saved
The developers that purchased L.A.'s Century Plaza Hotel, a swooping mid-century building, planned to raze it and start over. Preservationists fought back, and a new plan has been announced to preserve a significant section of it.
Getting Smart About Sewage
This post from IBM's A Smarter Planet blog looks at how advanced monitoring techniques and analytics are helping to improve the management of sewage and wastewater in cities like Sacramento and Dubuque.
Budget Challenges Threaten So Cal Transit Operations
The CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority details the feast or famine of transportation planning in Southern California in 2010: budgets are being slashed while a new sales tax and federal stimulus go online.
Reinventing Mobility in Detroit
PBS documents Detroit's attempts to overcome its history as "the Motor City" to create new ways of getting people around. Transit advocates play a big part in this preview, which includes renderings of projected transit options.
A Farm Grows in San Francisco, Where A Freeway Once Stood
A group of San Francisco farmers are turning a former freeway into a productive urban farm.
Vision Survives Public Process in Berkeley
John King is surprised to find that a bold plan for a public space has somehow squeaked through the Berkeley, CA planning process in an area between BART and campus.
Tiki Preservation
The Royal Hawaiian Estates, a tiki-themed apartment complex built in 1962, was designated an historic district by the City of Palm Springs.
Initiative Underway To Suspend California's Global Warming Act
California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, or AB 32, is known throughout the U.S. as being the landmark state legislation that addresses climate change. It is the target of an initiative that aims to suspend it unless unemployment drops.
L.A. to Extend Light Rail
Transportation officials in Los Angeles have approved the extension of one of the city's light rail lines out to Santa Monica. The new 7-mile link will connect the oceanside town to downtown L.A.
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
