The San Jose tower falls into the all-too-common trap of mistaking a skyline for a city.
Gentrification Studies Must Inspire Solutions
The study of gentrification took center stage at the recent conference of the Urban Affairs Association. It’s up to planners to put all of that research to good use.
Who’s to Blame for Gentrification? Planners, Apparently
Capital City casts planners as lackeys, serving the forces of capitalism.
How an Arizona Outpost Quenches California’s Thirst
Water influences urban planning only in the broadest sense. It doesn’t tell us where to build or in what configuration. But it determines how many of us can live here.
Updated CEQA Guidelines Finally Go Into Effect
While SB 743 belongs to California’s suite of regulations intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many planners hope that the adoption of VMT metrics will produce denser, less auto-dependent, more pleasant communities.
Snøhetta’s Saudi Arabian Wager
As impressive as Ithra is, it is still a bauble.
Dollar General: The New Retail Villain
Small communities are fighting the stores, which have gone from zero to over 200 in California in the past eight years, but usually they are allowed by local zoning.
Storefront Service Centers Put Transit Agencies on Solid Footing
Transit agencies, whether they run buses, trains, ferries, bike share systems, or other mediums of mobility, exist in a state of paradox. While their vehicles, signage and street furniture is highly visible and they serve millions of customers each year, many lack a physical connection with their customers. But some transit providers are working to change that.
High Speed Rail is Dead, Long Live High Speed Rail
As a piece of urbanism, Newsom’s revised experiment in high speed rail will be fascinating, and perhaps revelatory
Wildfires, Housing Top Gordon’s Priorities for Statewide Planning
Newly appointed Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research Kate Gordon spoke with CP&DR’s Josh Stephens about her transition into the public sector as California’s de facto chief planner.
2018 Year-in-Review
For all the tumult that 2018 brought, the world remains an interesting place. I was glad to write about a few corners of it, and I am pleased to present a few of my highlights, …
Sacramento Gets Tough Around Light-Rail Stops
City bans auto-oriented uses such as fast-food and auto repair establishments
State Law Prevails Over Slow-Growth Vote in Encinitas
Judge keeps ordering Encinitas to prepare new housing element, but voters keep shooting it down.
Tejon Ranch Approval Pushes Boundaries of Sprawl
After two decades of negotiation, the new master-planned town of Centennial has been cleared for 12,323 acres of the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch, a parcel of rolling hills and grasslands located at the northern edge of Los Angeles County.
Top 10 Urban Planning Books – 2018
Planetizen’s annual list of top books covers subjects in all varieties of planning: urban planning, community planning, environmental planning, and more.
Beating the Amazon Con
In short, cities should quit wasting money on corporate welfare and, if they’re going to proactively pursue economic development programs (itself a measure of dubious value), they should stick to homegrown assets. The pursuit of Amazon in particular, though, was as ironic as it was perverse.