If the Uberpocalypse (Lyftaclysm?) transpires, cities are going to find themselves time-warped back to 2009
Santa Barbara Celebrates “Authenticity,” Faces Housing Crunch
Santa Barbara will be on full display at next week’s conference of the California Chapter of the American Planning Association. In advance of the conference, CP&DR’s Josh Stephens spoke with Santa Barbara Community Development Director George Buell.
Incoming Berkeley Design Dean Seeks to Unite East and West Coasts in Responsible Urbanism
CP&DR’s Josh Stephens spoke with Vishaan Chakrabarti about his transition to Berkeley and the urban environment he will encounter upon moving west.
State Begins To Push SB 2 Planning Money Out The Door
SB 2 sets aside enough money for literally every jurisdiction in the state to apply for and receive a grant.
Sometimes Civic Ambition Should Aim Lower
The San Jose tower falls into the all-too-common trap of mistaking a skyline for a city.
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.
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.
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.
Sacramento Gets Tough Around Light-Rail Stops
City bans auto-oriented uses such as fast-food and auto repair establishments
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.
New General Plan Seeks to Banish Stockton’s Demons
Not long ago, the City of Stockton could hardly have paid for the paper to print a new general plan, much less actually craft the plan. Since the city declared bankruptcy in 2012 after a long slide, its finances have changed for the better. A new general plan update seeks to do the same for the city’s built environment.
The Social Importance of Public Spaces
Palaces for the People takes a meandering journey through what Klinenberg calls “social infrastructure.”
Scooters Propel Cities Toward New Regulatory Approaches
In the perennial race between technology and public policy, the electric scooter got out to a serious head-start last year. But urban planners are catching up.
Opportunity Zones Look Promising For California
The federal Opportunity Zone program promises, according to supporters, to direct tens — and possibly hundreds — of billions of dollars of private investment capital into some of the nation’s most needy communities, including over 800 Census tracts in California.