Many elements of great, but forbidden, urbanism are on display in a bygone version of Los Angeles
Solvang Reconsidered
We’re supposed to hate Solvang’s kitsch. But it’s got great bones — for several blocks in all directions
On Tea and Density in Old Delhi
The best tea shop in Old Delhi is not a shop at all. It’s a cart, a bottle of propane, a guy, and his assistant…
Wiener Loses Again. Or Does He?
SB 50 went down in flames once more. But the bill gave the state cover for other bills that would otherwise would have been considered radical. And RHNA is forcing upzoning all over the state.
Bidding Unhappy Trails to the Old Retail Landscape
The “retail apocalypse” has claimed a particularly unfortunate victim: the homegrown outdoor equipment chain Adventure 16. California’s cities and wilderness are both worse off
Mobility Revolution Arriving Fast … and Slow
Advances in mobility technologies — from electric cars to robotic shopping carts — are dazzling. But planners will be hard-pressed to predict which ones will prevail.
The Coming Uberapocalypse
If the Uberpocalypse (Lyftaclysm?) transpires, cities are going to find themselves time-warped back to 2009
Thunberg’s Voyage May Be a Stunt, But She Has a Point for Planners
If we can rebuild our cities according to those models, with an eye towards human scale and away from the automobile, Americans won’t need to travel abroad just so they can find a decent sidewalk cafe.
Stalled California housing bill could give architects chance to redesign the state’s cities
The quality of design that follows the passage of the next version of SB 50 will, without exaggeration, determine the look, feel, and function of California cities for at least the next generation.
Sometimes Civic Ambition Should Aim Lower
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.
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.
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
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.
The Clarity of Robert Venturi
Robert Venturi, who died last week at 93, was not an urbanist as such. But in rejecting modernism and bringing honesty to discussions about aesthetics, Venturi deserves a debt of gratitude from planners and other architects alike.
Eviction Is Only Part Of The Housing Crisis
I think I was the only reader in the country unmoved by Evicted, Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning inquiry into the dark heart of America’s eviction crisis
The Sad Debate Over SB 827
Few land use laws captured the public imagination and animated the land use community the way SB 827 did in its three short months on this earth