Tortorici writes like Joan Didion’s cloying little sister, drawing monumental conclusions from vast stores of hearsay, personal experiences, and idle speculation.
Los Angeles Metro Tackles First Mile, Last Mile Problem
The challenge Metro now faces – on a scale arguably larger than that of any other major city – is of getting riders to and from its trains and buses.
Ride-Hailing Apps Go the Extra Mile
By some accounts, Uber and Lyft, which are each operating in dozens of metro areas around the country, have only one major challenge left to overcome. It is the one that has baffled transportation planners, highway builders, soccer moms and weary executives for generations: mobility in the suburbs.
Brentwood should raise a glass to more bars
San Vicente is, by any measure, one of Los Angeles’ great commercial streets and a hub of which any neighborhood would be proud. But attractiveness alone does not a complete community make.
If You Build Startup Row in the Desert, Will They Come?
Through it all, the city’s famous slogan — “The Biggest Little City in the World” — remains harmless kitsch, for sure. But its essential meaninglessness also speaks of a city unsure of itself.
Cities Seize Chances to Avoid CEQA Review through Voter Initiatives
In the cities of Carson and Inglewood, competing sponsors of stadium proposals are employing, simultaneously, a newly legitimized tactic to exempt their projects from review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Will the Fight Over the 710 Gap in L.A. Be a Battle to the Death (of Freeways)?
Transportation planners, civic leaders and, especially, cargo carriers in the Los Angeles region have long bemoaned the gap.
L.A. Builds Tiny Parks at Furious Pace
Even the name of the initiative was more of a slogan than a goal — no one knew if it was feasible to develop 50 parks, but the department wanted to dream big.
Book Review: ‘Robert Moses: Master Builder of New York City’
It’s an odd feeling to see a historical figure represented visually, with his carriage, mannerisms, and emotions on display, often, in Moses’ case, with a beatific look of self-satisfaction.
Nosh Urbanism: Anaheim Packing House
Reimagined packinghouse centers Anaheim’s new “Foodie District.”
In L.A., thirsting for a decent bar culture
The answer in Los Angeles is not fewer bars, but more of them; not tighter, costlier regulations, but looser ones; not suspicious neighbors, but friendlier ones.
Los Angeles’ Slow-Growthers Have Gotten What They Wanted
Los Angeles’ population is, after 100 or so years of development, just about equal with the city’s maximum allowable population.
Pasadena Ushers in Era of VMT Metrics
The City of Pasadena implemented metrics that measure projects’ impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act in terms of vehicle miles traveled rather than level of service.
California Cities and the Innovation Economy: Q&A with Enrico Moretti
In his recent book The New Geography of Jobs, Enrico Moretti, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, explains how cities promote innovation and, importantly, how innovation affects cities’ economies.
A Vivid Warning for Coastal Cities
Sink or Swim was curated by Frances Anderton, known locally for hosting KCRW public radio’s DnA: Design & Architecture show. She spoke with CP&DR’s Josh Stephens.
Photos Signal Warning About a Future of Flooded Cities
“Sink or Swim: Designing for a Sea Change,” a photo exhibition about sea-level rise and the fate of cities at the Annenberg Space for Photograph in Los Angeles, remind[s] us that the disaster has already arrived.
Sacramento Revival
Train station renovation kicks off downtown redevelopment.
CEQA: The Cause of All Problems in California
Somehow, among all the laws, regulations, micro-, macro-, and global economic trends that impact on and emanate from our state, the overriding cause of California’s malaise is — wait for it — CEQA.