For all their popularity, setbacks have little basis in engineering or architecture. They are simply regulatory whims.
It’s Time to Stop Demonization of Developers
Among the grandiose promises, half-truths, and outright whoppers that sponsors of Measure S proffered, one of the most consistent messages concerned the depravity of real estate developers.
Trump Raises Stakes For Urban Journalism
At an annual gathering of land use journalists, we came away with more questions than answers about how the Trump administration will treat cities.
Tech Windfall, Deportation Order Threaten to Snap Los Angeles in Half
Deportation is — to say the least — the most perverse way to solve a housing crisis.
California’s Nastiest Urban-Rural Rivalry
Nasty as it sounds, Green Acres ‘Farm’ in Kern County is an apt symbol of the symbiosis between rural and urban areas.
How CEQA Helped Elect Trump
This year, while NIMBY’s were tittering about LULU’s, the “drill baby drill” crowd was marshaling its forces.
Calexit in Reverse
If Donald Trump threatens to pull the nation back into the past, I suggest that California remains — as ever — its future.
Especially in California, Greens Have Missed the Party
While the Green Party nominates a presidential candidate every four years as a publicity stunt, other politicians—Democrats and Republicans alike—have been steadily pursuing a green agenda in California. California cities are better off for it.
From Shanghai to Westchester: LAX Caught between Local, Global Forces
LAX is always under construction or renovation –in sometimes valiant, sometimes halfhearted, usually halting attempts to spruce up L.A.’s “nine terminals linked by a traffic jam.” It’s one traffic jam that may finally end.
The Cute and the Iconic
Many architects would kill to get a building on Architectural Record’s list of 125 Top Buildings. But big cities can learn a few things from the landscapes of small-town America too.
The Houston Townhouse: An Appreciation
Houston has a few new high-rises and plenty of California-style mid-rises, but the townhouse has become the dominant new typology. With coverage from the Houston Chronicle.
L.A. Metro’s Prop. 13-Driven Christmas Tree
In Los Angeles County a new unintended consequence has arisen that, though it might prove great for the county, probably has Jarvis spinning in his grave.
A Philadelphia Solution to California’s Housing Woes
As California cities agonize over how to house everyone, they are missing out on a typology with countless reasons to recommend it.
Trump to Cities: You’re Dead to Me
Donald Trump invokes the darkest days of urban decay and crime to appeal to his base. The facts speak to an urban triumph that has led to greater national prosperity and higher standards of living for tens of millions of Americans.
Renters vs. Tenants: A Distinction with a Difference
I think of renters expansively, as more than just parties who signed a piece of paper. Renters are demographic group, and an enormous one at that.
OpEd: Expo Line
Why Westsiders needs to stop worrying and learn how to love the train.
California Needs ‘Minimum Housing’ to Go Along with Minimum Wage
Minimum wage increases don’t mean much if housing supply does not increase.
Los Angeles’ Moral Failing
urking behind every data point and every policy are forces like curiosity, relationships, open-ness, diversity, civic self-image, and values. These factors are often disregarded by short-sighted wonks and bureaucrats not because they’re not crucial but because they aren’t easily quantified.