California
Taxpayers Funding Gas-Guzzlers For Public Employees?
Steve Lopez asks why Los Angeles county supervisors use taxpayer dollars for chauffer-driven gas-guzzlers.
Top-Down Greening In The Urban Core
Can cities get back in touch with nature? Planners, developers, architects, and policy makers convened in Los Angeles June 7 to face the challenge and develop a plan of action to help bring life onto the rooftops of L.A.'s downtown.
Hot L.A. Nights Caused By Urban Heat Island Effect
Climatologists blame the urban 'heat island' effect for a rise in Southern California's average evening temperatures, which have hit record highs in recent days.
Many Bay Area Cities Flunk Housing Report Card
A business group publishes its annual "report card" or housing profile for Bay Area communities by comparing local housing permits issued to state-mandated housing goals.
Evicting Homeless For L.A. River Revitalization
For years, drifters and homeless people have been living on some of the small islands of earth that remain in the paved-over Los Angeles River. While they are not a high priority for police, the river revitalization movement wants them gone.
New Towers Designed To Become San Francisco Landmarks
Approved twin towers at the base of the San Francisco entrance to the Bay Bridge are designed to withstand earthquakes and hurricane gales.
Unclogging L.A.'s Streets
With a strong style and a common-sense approach, Gloria Jeff is taking on one of the world's most unenviable jobs: general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation.
Some Residents Lament As Developers Reign In L.A.
Los Angeles faces projections of a population increase of up to 5 million people by 2030. The city's residents and planners are trying to come to terms with growth as a necessity, but the city's developer-friendly attitude has angered many residents.
Free-Transit On 'Bad Air Days" Popular, But Funds Exhausted
"Spare the Air" is a program operated by the Bay Area's air district to encourage use of public transit on 'bad air' days. They funded 3 "free transit" days to accompany the warnings. Ridership increased greatly but funding is exhausted too soon.
Bay Area Ends Free Transit Experiment
A popular and successful experiment to boost ridership on 26 Bay Area transit systems on designated "Spare the Air" days ends due to lack of funding, while some believe the plan may have been good for the local economy.
San Diego Reaches Compromise On Inclusionary Zoning
The city will amend its three-year-old ordinance to settle a lawsuit brought by the local the Building Industry Association.
The Most Polluted Places In America – National Parks?
California's Central Valley is known to be one of the most polluted areas in U.S., but few know that the two national parks above the Valley, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, actually have higher ozone concentrations than the flatlands below.
Upscale Development Boom in the High Desert
Even as the housing market slows in Southern California, an upscale housing boom continues in Antelope Valley.
The Political Power of Big Oil in California
Using their large purses and incredible political strength in the California legislature, lobbyists for the oil industry have succeeded in killing any legislation they have deemed a serious threat to profits.
Unique Open Space Sales Tax Measure Attempts To Be Renewed
A quarter cent sales tax measure, which has raised $200 million since 1990 and preserved 70,000 acres of open space, may be put before the voters of Santa Rosa, CA, in November for early re-authorization.
Sacramento Creates Infill Housing Council
The council will work with city officials and developers identify workable sites for infill housing as an alternative to sprawl.
San Francisco Becoming Artist-Unfriendly
Long known as a city of writers and artists, San Francisco can't hold on to its creative types due to its high cost of living.
Will Sprawl Fee Spread To The Bay Area?
The Bay Area's Air Quality District is awaiting the outcome of the building industry's litigation against the country's first regulation of "indirect sources" in California's heavily polluted Central Valley.
A Turnaround For One Infamous L.A. Neighborhood
The revival of the Rampart District, a generation after it became one of the most violent districts in Los Angeles and seven years after its famous police scandal, shows how diverse are the factors that determine urban evolution.
Are Oakland's Schools Prepared For Downtown Housing Boom?
With tens of thousands of housing units springing up downtown and nearby classrooms already at capacity, the local school district is figuring out how to meet the coming demand.
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
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
