California
"Land of Extremes" Feels the Hurt
California's Inland Empire's status as one of the nation's leader in foreclosures has fleeing retail as proof of it. This article offers a glimpse in this "land of extremes."
San Francisco Plans Pedestrian Street
San Francisco is looking to follow New York City's lead as it moves forward with plans to convert a portion of street into a pedestrian plaza.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Urban Vision
Poet and longtime San Francisco Lawrence Ferlinghetti told Streetsblog his vision for an urban park in North Beach, in this video interview.
Unappreciated Cyclists In Sausalito
Marin County has a reputation to live up to. In this column, Sausalito does just that in its treatment of hordes of cycling tourists who rent bikes on Fisherman's Wharf, pedal across the GG Bridge to have lunch in Sausalito, and return on the ferry.
Time May Be Right for Mag-Lev From Vegas to SoCal
A magnetic levitation train link between Anaheim and Las Vegas has been on the table for 30 years. Now could be the time the project finally gets enough traction to go from idea to reality.
San Francisco Rail: A Living History
S.F. historian Carl Nolte examines S.F.'s vibrant streetcar history and today's modern light rail replacements.
Cleaning Out and Keeping Up Foreclosures
As foreclosures spread throughout California's Inland Empire, empty homes need to be cleaned and maintained. To meet the demand, an industry is rapidly expanding.
The News Hour Reports On Public Transit In Peril
"Blueprint America" looks at declining public transit subsidies and resulting transit service cuts. The video and report follows two East Bay commuters on suburban bus, BART; the transit agency meeting where bus service is reduced; MUNI LRT footage.
The 'Loin's Grunge and Grime Now Historic
Stocked with architectural gems but fraught with crime, San Francisco's Tenderloin district has long been debated as a possible historic site. The debate is now over, as it was recently named to the National Register of Historic Places.
Catering to Oakland's Enclaves
A one-size-fits-all urban landscape doesn't mean that different ethnic neighborhoods don't find ways to personalize them. A UC Berkeley graduate student investigates how cultures perceive space.
The Battle Over The Transbay Terminal
The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) and the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) are sparring over the size of the "train box" in the new Transbay Terminal. Streetsblog makes sense of the brouhaha.
One Point for Supergraphics
The same judge who decided that banning outdoor ads is unconstitutional has rule that the city of Los Angeles acted unlawfully in denying an outdoor advertiser new permits. The city began trying to eradicate billboards and giant ads in 2002.
Planner's Predictions Uncovered
Fifty years ago, Kenneth E. Norwood placed a time capsule and his predictions for Burbank, CA in a newly constructed bridge. According to the planner, monorails and "multi-unit garden apartments" were the waves of the future.
Concerns Over Sidelining CEQA
The California Environmental Quality Act is being set aside for a handful of stimulus projects, but even when the project is to the benefit of the community many see the sidelining as silencing much-needed input.
City Financing is Spurring Solar Growth
Municipal financing gives homeowners the ability to install solar panels while defraying the large initial investment. The system is creating a solar boom throughout California.
Supergraphics Baron Claims Right to Expression
As the city and activists work to control giant 'supergraphics' posted without permits around the city, the largest poster of posters attempts to claim that it's a free speech issue. His Statue of Liberty banners can be seen across L.A.
Revitalization Falters in Downtown L.A.
The revitalization of downtown Los Angeles took another hit this week, as real estate firm Meruleo Maddox Properties Inc., the largest private landowner in the area, revealed that it may have to file for bankruptcy protection.
Downtown LA Park Falls Short as a Whole
According to architecture critic Chris Hawthorne, Downtown Los Angeles' Civic Park does nothing in the way of creating its own identity. Instead, it neglects its image as a whole by being too fixated on its "aesthetic responsibility."
Horse Track Sees Possible Future as Mixed Use
Developers have released plans for a mixed use retail project to replace a horse racing track, a proposal that would be one of the largest redevelopment projects in the region.
Failure of Palmdale Airport Frustrates Regional Planning In SoCal
Once the object of grand plans, L.A. county's Palmdale Regional Airport has tried in vain to sustain regular service and ease congestion at LAX. United's pullout in December leaves the future of regionalization in doubt.
Pagination
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