California

More Californians Losing Their Homes

The latest figures show that more than 500 California households have gone into foreclosure each day in the first quarter of 2008.

April 24, 2008 - LA Times Blog: LA Land

San Francisco Teaches Charleston About Preserving Lesser-Known Areas

Though more than a hundred years newer, the city of San Francisco has a lot to teach cities like Charleston about preserving their less-than-iconic historic areas.

April 24, 2008 - The Post and Courier

San Francisco's Bay Area Growth May Change With Climate

Officials forecast need to adapt development model: to retreat from some areas, build in others, and reduce reliance on cars.

April 22, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

A Battle Over Building Heights

In anti-growth Santa Barbara, preservationists and smart growth advocates have forged a compromise that will permit taller buildings for developments that include affordable housing.

April 19, 2008 - The Santa Barbara Independent

Bay Area TODs Helping To Cut Emissions

New transit towns around the Bay Area's BART stations are attracting residents who value the convenience and savings of a walkable community and nearby transit.

April 19, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

You Can't Escape Sprawl

With sprawl proceeding largely unchecked in North California, residents who fled the city for more rural areas now find that urbanization has encroached their once sleepy communities.

April 18, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Aims To Give Parking A Technological Makeover

Variable parking rates and online parking availability are features of a pilot program meant to increase convenience and cut congestion on the road.

April 17, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

Market Woes Stifle 'Great Park' Progress

Three years after Irvine, California's "Great Park" was approved, development of the planned public spaces, homes and businesses has struggled to move forward. The housing crisis is being blamed for the lack of action.

April 17, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Preserving a California Ghost Town

This article from Discover takes a tour of Bodie, California, a gold-mining mountain ghost town, where the entire city is in a state of "arrested decay".

April 16, 2008 - Discover

Los Angeles Taco Trucks in Trouble

Mobile taco trucks in Los Angeles may face tougher fines for parking in any one place for too long if proposed restrictions are passed by the county.

April 16, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Official Takes Up Anti-Density Cause

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky has becoming increasingly outspoken against the city's new density bonus, saying it goes against the will of residents and will contribute to the destruction of stable neighborhoods.

April 14, 2008 - Los Angeles

A Holistic Approach To Planning For Traffic Impacts

Instead of requiring developers to complete traffic studies for individual projects, one Northern California city has commissioned a comprehensive traffic study, and asked developers to help foot the bill.

April 14, 2008 - San Mateo County Times

California Bullet Train Heading to Ballot

California voters will soon vote on a $10 billion bond proposal that would fund a 220 mph bullet train running between L.A. and San Francisco.

April 14, 2008 - The Christian Science Monitor

California's Growth Debate Continues Amidst Housing Slowdown

Sacramento Bee's political columnist Dan Walters discusses the California growth debate amidst the temporary development lull and questions whether the state is ready to embrace smart growth, despite recognizing that it reduces global warming.

April 11, 2008 - The Sacramento Bee

The Unintended Consequences Of Stormwater Regulation

California water quality regulators continue to levy ever-tougher standards for stormwater runoff. But the standards could impact development and cities in a way that is not best for the environment at large.

April 11, 2008 - California Planning & Development Report

Residents Sue Over State Density Bonus Law

Upset about the effect of California State Bill 1818's override of local zoning restrictions, a Los Angeles resident has sued the city to overturn its density bonus ordinance. Others may soon follow.

April 10, 2008 - Los Angeles Daily News

Reclaiming L.A. as a Cycling City

Over 100 years ago, a wooden bicycle highway linked Pasadena to Los Angeles. Now cycling activists are hoping that, by closing the Arroyo Seco Parkway to automobiles for "ArroyoFest," Angelinos can once again imagine a cycling future for LA.

April 10, 2008 - Sierra

Hollywood, Reborn and Transformed

By nearly any measure, the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood has been radically transformed in the last 10 years, becoming a bar-hopper’s dream, a gourmet’s destination, and a rising shopping and housing district.

April 10, 2008 - The Slatin Report

Can Los Angeles Plan Its Way To Mobility?

With a growing population, a sprawling urban landscape, and uncertain public funding, Los Angeles seems to be hoping for a miracle with its latest transportation planning effort.

April 9, 2008 - Wired Magazine

Crime Cameras Move Crime, Not Deter It

In San Francisco, "crime cameras" intended to ward of crime and record any illegal activity that occurs have been shown by a recent report to do little to prevent crimes from taking place.

April 9, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

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.