California
High Speed Rail May Have Hidden Costs
With nearly $10 billion in bonds going up for a vote in 2008 to fund high speed rail in California, residents should consider the history of public works projects that have greatly exceeded their initial low cost estimates, writes Adam B. Summers.
San Jose Encouraged To Bend Rules For Soccer Stadium
This editorial calls on the city of San Jose, California, to bend recently-passed planning process rules to keep hopes alive for a mixed-use soccer stadium project.
The Fire Last Time...And The Time Before That And The Time Before That...
In this reprinted excerpt from his 1999 book The Ecology of Fear, Mike Davis recounts the fire-prone history of Malibu and shows that development there has succumbed to repeated disastrous fires.
Saying 'No' To Housing: Cities Defend Industrial Lands
A number of cities in California are adopting policies to limit the conversion of industrial lands to housing and, in some case, retail development. Cities insist they need to defend their industrial job bases.
Halloween Street Festival Cancelled In San Francisco's Castro District
After a rash of violence at its annual Castro district Halloween festival in recent years, San Francisco has put the kibosh on this year's festivities. City officials are hoping word of the party's cancellation has been heard.
Think About Site And Climate Before Approving Projects
In response to the latest Southern California wildfires, site locations and climate must be more carefully considered by the people who build and approve subdivisions, writes Christopher Hawthorne.
Feds To LA: Try Congestion Pricing On Freeways
In a clear message to L.A.’s transportation leaders, a U.S. Department of Transportation representative told the city's transit agency to consider congestion pricing as a method to both reduce congestion and show ‘the true costs’ of freeway driving.
Ambitious Transportation Pricing Scheme Proposed For Bay Area
At a unique, combined meeting of two regional agencies, planners in the San Francisco Bay Area proposed several transportation pricing strategies to reduce global warming.
Another Fire, Yet Still More Homes
With two major fires in four years, San Diego County officials are trying to evaluate their options. Though many acknowledge that the battle against forest fires is a losing one, there are no proposals to restrict home building in fire prone areas.
Ad Plans Dropped From Golden Gate
A proposal to include advertising in certain visitor areas near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge has been rejected.
Berkeley Reveals Solar Vision
In an effort to curb its energy use, the city of Berkeley, California, is considering a plan that would subsidize the installation of solar panels on homes in the city.
CA High Speed Rail Receives 'Vote Of Confidence'
The California Transportation Commission allocated $15.5 million to the state's High-Speed Rail Authority for environmental, engineering and design work on short, designated corridors for the 700-mile, $40 billion rail system.
Tackling Climate Change With Land Use
This opinion piece looks at how technology alone can't be depended on to solve the environmental threats of climate change. Land use and development patterns must also be addressed.
Growth Pushes People Into Fireplace
Increased development in wooded and fire-prone areas is one of the major causes of California's recent "megafires".
Flashback: Ignoring Warnings, Feds Cut San Diego Fire Prevention Funds
This past April, agencies responsible for fire prevention in the San Diego area were warning the Bush Administration not to cut funding for deadwood removal, saying it was only a matter of time before another major fire.
Not Putting Out The Fire With Land Use Planning
As fires devastate Southern California and cause the evacuation of more than half million people, Bill Fulton laments how land use planning has largely been ignored as a fire risk reduction method.
Fire-Prone Suburban Southwest Built At 'Catastrophic' Densities
Burgeoning migration to the American southwest has resulted in suburban expansion into wilderness areas prone to fires, which are now more severe due to the impacts of climate change.
The Limitations Of Infill Development In The Bay Area
A home builder points to the "no-growth, anti-housing environmental alliance" that restricts greenfield development as the primary reason the Bay Area is unable to house its growing population.
San Diego Lures Second Home Buyers
Homebuyers increasingly look to developing downtown San Diego, California, as the site for their second homes.
Fighting Crime With Design
Law enforcement in Sacramento, California are using urban design to reduce crime in the city.
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
