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FEATURED WORK

Writing on urban planning, city trends, transportation, design,
and education.

Santa Barbara Celebrates “Authenticity,” Faces Housing Crunch

September 12, 2019 • CP&DR

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.

Thunberg’s Voyage May Be a Stunt, But She Has a Point for Planners

September 2, 2019 • No Tags

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.

Incoming Berkeley Design Dean Seeks to Unite East and West Coasts in Responsible Urbanism

August 29, 2019 • CP&DR

CP&DR’s Josh Stephens spoke with Vishaan Chakrabarti about his transition to Berkeley and the urban environment he will encounter upon moving west.

Housing Crisis Turns School Districts Into Developers

August 29, 2019 • CP&DR

State Begins To Push SB 2 Planning Money Out The Door

July 16, 2019 • CP&DR

SB 2 sets aside enough money for literally every jurisdiction in the state to apply for and receive a grant.

Take Me Out to the City

July 7, 2019 • Planetizen

Architecture critic Paul Goldberger analyzes the evolution of baseball stadiums and celebrates their essential connection to cities in “Ballpark: Baseball in the American City.”

Stalled California housing bill could give architects chance to redesign the state’s cities

June 14, 2019 • The Architect's Newspaper

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.

Stampede of New Residents Challenges Fort Worth

May 29, 2019 • Planetizen

An interview with Fort Worth Planning and Development Director Randle Harwood on the planning practices and ideas driving the future of one of the nation’s fastest growing cities.

Sometimes Civic Ambition Should Aim Lower

May 14, 2019 • CP&DR

The San Jose tower falls into the all-too-common trap of mistaking a skyline for a city.

College Essays and the Misuse of ‘Voice’

May 10, 2019 • Medium

Gentrification Studies Must Inspire Solutions

May 8, 2019 • Planetizen

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

April 22, 2019 • Planetizen

Capital City casts planners as lackeys, serving the forces of capitalism.

How an Arizona Outpost Quenches California’s Thirst

April 17, 2019 • CP&DR

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.

Bay Area Planning Directors Consider “Common Destiny” at APA Panel

April 16, 2019 • CP&DR

Updated CEQA Guidelines Finally Go Into Effect

April 15, 2019 • CP&DR

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

March 6, 2019 • Architect Magazine

As impressive as Ithra is, it is still a bauble.

Dollar General: The New Retail Villain

February 24, 2019 • CP&DR

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.

Today’s Applicants, Tomorrow’s Reputations

February 19, 2019 • Medium
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