California

San Francisco Locked Out of Own Data By Disgruntled Employee

A systems admin in San Francisco apparently decided to bring San Francisco grinding to a halt, and refuses to divulge the passwords he set up across the city's entire network.

July 24, 2008 - The Christian Science Monitor

S.F. Looks To Kick Cars Off Market Street

Officials in San Francisco have proposed permanently banning cars from a 2.3 mile section of Market Street, downtown's major thoroughfare.

July 24, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Fast-Food Moratorium Moves Ahead in L.A.

A proposal to ban any new fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles for one year has received unanimous approval from a city committee, and will head next to city council for approval. Concerns have been raised about what qualifies as "fast food".

July 24, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Least Economically Developed: Fresno

This segment from NPR looks at the economy of the central California city of Fresno, which has been named the least economically developed part of the country by a recent report.

July 23, 2008 - NPR

Highway Funds Losing Money

Yet another unforeseen consequence of high gasoline prices and less driving: the gas tax-funded federal highway trust fund is being depleted, putting states' highway project funding in danger.

July 22, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

The L.A. River, Navigability, and the Future of Watershed Development

Planetizen's Assistant Editor Nate Berg investigates the impact of recent court decisions on the Los Angeles River, and how it may affect development on the watersheds of rivers and waterways across the country.

July 21, 2008 - Nate Berg

The Park-Poor City

This article from LA Weekly looks at L.A.'s parks deficit and what some are trying to do to address it.

July 21, 2008 - LA Weekly

What Country Uses the Most Gas? California

Alexis Madrigal at Wired digs into the stats, and find that the state of California uses more gasoline than any country in the world.

July 19, 2008 - Wired

Most Walkable City: San Francisco

San Francisco has been named the most walkable American city by the walkability website WalkScore.

July 18, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

State Burns Up Over Counties' Growth Policies

When you live near raging wildfires, you begin to understand why the State of California spends nearly $1 billion a year on firefighting. You also start to see why some state lawmakers say it's time for more local responsibility.

July 17, 2008 - California Planning & Development Report

Walking and Well-Being

Walkable Communities founder Dan Burden believes walkable communities contribute to greater happiness -- and that Silicon Valley has a thing or two to learn from Denmark.

July 15, 2008 - San Jose Mercury

FasTrak Toll Hacking: Dangerous Or Ridiculous?

A "Black Hat security researcher" claims he has discovered security flaws in the FasTrak toll transponder used by drivers in California and Colorado. However, the story is quickly dismantled as "baloney" by a toll road industry insider.

July 14, 2008 - Toll Roads News

Networked Parking System Alerts Drivers to Free Spots

New technologies promise to revolutionize the hunt for a parking spot in big cities like San Francisco. Donald Shoup is along for the ride.

July 14, 2008 - The New York Times

Berkeley's BRT Faces Backlash

Business owners fear dedicated transit lane would discourage shopping along Telegraph Avenue, while proponents look to BRT as a cheap way to clear up traffic.

July 12, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Save Water, Face Fine

When California declared a statewide drought, a couple decided to let their front lawn die.

July 10, 2008 - RedOrbit

Something Good To Say About California's Prop 13 In A Housing Slump

Long considered the source of California's fiscal and land use woes, Proposition 13, passed by voters in 1978, limits increases in property tax. However, it may prove to be an 'economic stabilizer' during the current housing slump.

July 10, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

High-Speed Rail Ready to Go- Just Add Money

After significant debate, the Pacheco pass route has been approved for the high-speed train between Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Next step: pass a $10 billion proposition on the November ballot.

July 10, 2008 - San Jose Mercury News

Study Says That Highways Don't Pay for Themselves

How often does one hear that transit is somehow a less respectable form of transportation than driving because of the "massive subsidies" transit receives? Well, a new study by Texas DOT says that highways don't pay for themselves either.

July 9, 2008 - la.streetsblog.org

What's In A Neighborhood's Name?

Officials in Los Angeles have renamed the former "South Central" to remove the stigma of riots in the 1990's. But some business owners and residents say that's had a greater negative consequence than keeping the old name would have.

July 9, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

SoCal Residents Overcoming Fear of Transit

Southern Californians, facing some of the worst gas prices in the country, are experimenting with taking public transit, as these personal stories from the Los Angeles Times attest.

July 9, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.