California
Similar Sister Cities
A look at the similarities between Los Angeles and Mexico City.
L.A. Looks To Move Beyond Coal With Wind
The Southern California region is rich in renewable assets, so the LADWP is attempting to become the nationwide leader in developing and integrating wind power.
Sacramento Outsmarts San Francisco, L.A.
Residents of San Francisco and Los Angeles like to feel superior to supposedly unsophisticated Sacramento. Yet, Sacramento appears to be ahead of the hip coastal areas when it comes to actually implementing smart growth.
Guarding the Hollywood Sign
This report from NPR looks at the impending sale of land on the hillside above the infamous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, and the local official who's trying to prevent it.
L.A. Erasing Murals
Murals are under fire in Los Angeles, as city officials are painting over what they see as "illegal signs".
Affordable Housing May Be Required in San Francisco Redevelopment
A measure to require half of all new housing units in San Francisco's planned redevelopment of Bayview-Hunters Point is heading to the city's June ballot. The developer says the measure will kill the project.
Historic Preservation Through Virtual Reality
By utilizing virtual reality software, students at UC Berkeley are recreating a historic stretch of Oakland, California's 7th Street, a historic hotbed of jazz and blues clubs during the 1940s and '50s.
Evictions Precede Market-Rate Conversion of Affordable Housing
Plans to convert one of San Francisco's public housing projects into market rate housing has resulted in dozens of evictions, and more are expected.
Bay Area Reluctantly Warms Up to On-Ramp Metering
With increasing congestion and freeways built out just about as far as they can go, transportation planners in the San Francisco Bay Area are considering plans to put on-ramp metering lights on many of the area's most congested stretches of freeway.
If You Prevent It, They Won't Do It
The Golden Gate Bridge has a four foot railing along its pedestrian sidewalk. Mental health advocates have long demanded that a barrier be placed to prevent those intent on suicide from jumping, and point to studies showing why it is needed.
Small Town Approaching its Final Days
A proposed development in rural Southern California could erase one of the area's few remaining small towns, replacing it with a massive subdivision that would extend the sprawl of Los Angeles even farther north.
A Brief History of Planning in San Diego
As the city of San Diego prepares to consider a new general plan, the San Diego Union-Tribune looks back at the last 100 years in city planning.
Long Beach Mayor Discusses Incentives for Renewable Energy
At a recent conference in Southern California, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster argues for the federal government to stay out of the way of good work and to sponsor an "Apollo Project" for renewable energy.
Fuel Cell Buses: A Tale Of Two Transit Agencies
In the San Francisco Bay Area, two public transit agencies are conducting trials with "Zero Emission Buses", or ZEBs. They are using different types of hydrogen fuel cell technologies, with very different results.
End of Downtown Construction Boom May Be Near
Two notable large-scale projects in downtown L.A. have not broken ground on time, which many see as a sign of the end of downtown's real estate boom.
Beneath the Surface of L.A.'s Densification
This article from the LA Weekly looks at efforts by the city planning department and key politicians to increase the density of the city.
Time To Solve Problems Of California's Delta Is Now
The largest estuary in the West, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, has been in trouble for many years. Yet policy-makers have been unable or unwilling to undertake major projects. That may change in 2008.
New Findings on Immigrants, Crime, & Incarceration
A new report from a non-profit, non-partisan California think tank finds that immigrants, both legal and undocumented, have lower rates of incarceration and criminal activity in California than the U.S.-born population.
Is L.A. Ready to Rethink Mobility?
Plans to convert major arteries to one-way streets in L.A. are meeting tough criticism. Many say the city needs to rethink what mobility should mean, but others say L.A. isn't ready for such a paradigm shift.
Green Building Requirement Weighed in San Francisco
The city of San Francisco is considering a proposal to require most new commercial and residential buildings to comply with the green building standard LEED.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association
