California

The Ongoing Debate Over California's Eucalyptus Trees
The eucalyptus is an exotic species in California, and studies suggest it has contributed to an increase in wildfire hazards. But defenders of the trees say the eucalyptus is just an ecological scapegoat.

San Diego Smart City Sensors Causing Controversy
Thousands of streetlight sensors are collecting a trove of data—from traffic counts to humidity levels—and advocacy groups say the city needs to be more transparent about how the data is being used and who has access to it.

Amid Opposition, S.F. Homeless Navigation Center Completed
A new facility providing shelter and services to San Francisco’s homeless will open this month, even after a year of community pushback.

HUD's Latest Homeless Report Counts Increasing Homelessness
The federal government blamed California for the increasing number of people living in homelessness in the United States.

California Clears the Way for Autonomous Delivery Vehicles
Safety driver not included.

San Diego Residents Could Vote to Expand Ballot Box Planning Powers
The March ballot in San Diego County will ask voters to make big decisions about planning and development on the fringes of the developed parts of the county.

People Over Cars: The Future of San Francisco
The San Bruno Avenue Multimodal Improvement Project moved forward in San Francisco despite local resistance. The planning and political calculus behind the project is a sign of more to come in the City by the Bay.
Green Hydrogen, Plus Storage, Key to Los Angeles' Plan for Carbon-Free Electricity
The Los Angeles municipal utility will convert a Utah coal power plant to run on natural gas in 2025. According to a proposal unveiled Dec. 10, the plant will incrementally be converted to run entirely on hydrogen, a zero-emission fuel, by 2045.

Life Inside a Sprawling Homeless Camp
Two New York Times reporters spent three months in the High Street Camp, a homeless community of 100 people in Oakland, California.

Affordable Housing Required for Development on L.A. City Properties
The Los Angeles City Council has approved a rule that residential buildings on city property will have to be 100 percent affordable.

Colorado River Cutback Plan to Start in January
States in the Lower Basin of the Colorado River will contribute more water in order to keep reservoirs from reaching critically low levels.

California Proposal to Shelter Homeless on Cruise Ship
Oakland is looking at the possibility of housing homeless people in unconventional quarters.

Retail Apocalypse Blazes New Trails
The demise of a beloved outdoors gear chain in Southern California suggests that no store is safe in America's high-priced cities.

S.F. Bay Area Cooperative Offers New Affordable Housing Model
A California cooperative brings together investors to make homeownership more accessible and finance housing projects that help to slow gentrification.
Bay Area Planner Accosted by Building Security
An extremely problematic encounter occurred last week when a black planner was accosted by security while taking photos of bike racks on the street outside of a luxury building.

Gov. Newsom's Phase-out of Oil Production Prompts Backlash in Kern County
Almost 80% of oil extraction in the nation's sixth largest oil-producing state occurs in Kern County. Supervisors see the California governor's climate plan to reduce oil production as a threat to the county's economic well-being.

The Homeless Working Poor
The Salinas Valley in California is an agricultural powerhouse, but homelessness and hunger abound. Finding affordable housing is becoming increasingly difficult, even for people with jobs.

Navigating California's Housing Insanity
One person’s return to the San Francisco Bay Area meant facing the dystopian realities of the rental market.

California Climate Program Offers Up to $9,500 Toward Purchase of Used EVs
Lawmakers want to ensure that electric vehicles are accessible to all Californians, particularly lower-income motorists in disadvantaged communities. Unlike other incentive programs, participants must also scrap an older, polluting vehicle.

Watch a New Bus-Only Lane in Action
The Streetfilms team visited to Los Angeles to check out the temporary bus-only lane on Flower Street for lessons in freeing buses from car traffic.
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