As a journalist covering urban planning in the real California, I can’t help thinking that the modes of living that Lepucki imagines surviving in the state’s ashes can be seen as an extreme exaggeration of …
California: Looking Forward—or Backward?
Some Recommendations About Recommendation Letters
Students often behave as if recommendation letters don’t exist.
Sprawl Depends on More Than Just Density
Density in L.A. presents an opportunity, and a tremendous one at that. It’s an opportunity to take all the people, buildings, capital, and spirit that are crammed in here at 6,100 people to the square mile and figure out how to design our buildings, transportation network, public spaces, and civic life in a way that makes the most of what we have.
L.A. High-Rise Boom Won’t Cure a Housing Crisis
No fewer than 20 high-rise and medium-rise projects are under construction or in development in the roughly 40-square-block area.
The Infantilization of College Admissions
No matter where they’re teaching, no clear-minded teacher enters the classroom every day wanting to make students “college-ready.”
California’s Golden Days: Review of ‘The Rush: America’s Fevered Quest for Fortune, 1848–1853’
As ancient as the history of the gold rush may be — especially by California standards — parallels between contemporary California and infant California are eerily strong.
California Airport Feud Gets Ugly
When Ontario officials envision doubled or tripled traffic at ONT, they also envision development — and lots of it.
KVPR Interview: High Speed Rail: Comparing California’s Future Bullet Train To Taiwan’s
Interview with Joe Moore of KVPR’s “Valley Edition” on the future of high-speed rail in California.
Book Review: ‘Culture Crash’
‘Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class’ by Scott Timberg argues that cities must defend and support local culture in the face of the homogenizing effects of the creative class.
L.A. Weighs Options for Fixing 4,400 Miles of Sidewalks
In a city famous for the sudden shock of moving earth, the disrepair of Los Angeles’ sidewalks is a slow-motion disaster, threatening ankles, baby strollers, disabled pedestrians and the city budget alike.
College Rejection Doesn’t Have to Mean Frustration
Students can do a great deal, both before and after applying, to ensure that they maintain their sanity, embrace colleges’ decisions, and actually increase their chances of getting into their favored schools.
Los Angeles’ Slow Burn
For some urbanists in Los Angeles’ smart growth crowd, the only thing better than the destruction of one faux-Italian megablock apartment complex would be the destruction of four faux-Italian megablock apartment complexes.
New L.A. Kitchen Co-Working Space Is Good for Chefs, Foodies and Even the Health Department
L.A. Prep is hoping to help these food entrepreneurs compete, if not with Kraft and Nabisco, then at least with Amy’s and Annie’s.
Top 10 Books – 2015
Planetizen is pleased to release its list of the ten best books in urban planning, design, and development published in 2014.
Not All NIMBYs Are Alike
The ethics of NIMBYism depend largely on the kind of environment that you’re trying to save.
Explaining the Country’s Worst Rental Market
Surely, homeowners are entitled to worry about traffic, sight lines, city services, and all the rest. What I suspect, though, is that many homeowners really want to do is what any rational, self-interested actor would want when he or show owns a valuable asset. They want to constrain supply.
Planetizen’s Interchange Blog
Josh is a featured blogger on Planetizen.com, the online home of the world’s urban planning community.
HuffPost Blog Series
This is Josh’s series of blogs on college counseling, college essays, and related topics.