A “new city” near the Bay Area has caught the popular imagination, for better or worse. What of “regular” planning?
Is California Forever Visionary or Just Public Relations?
APA Preview: The Central Valley Faces Growth Issues
A roundtable with planners from California’s Central Valley, in advance of the Cal APA conference in Fresno
Cities Rethink Downtown Strategies Post-Pandemic
Post-pandemic, some California downtowns are up. Some are way down…
New Rail Line Opens to Cautious Optimism in South Los Angeles
Crenshaw Line brings mass transit to the center of LA’s Black community.
The Perverse Economics of Los Angeles’s “Mansion Tax”
A well intentioned ballot measure to raise affordable housing funds from big-dollar real estate transfers could kill the housing Los Angeles needs most.
Legislature Considers Diverse Range of Housing Bills
Even as cities strain under the weight of new housing regulations, legislators are trying new ideas and resurrecting old ones.
Book Review: Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Review of How Big Things Get Done, by Bent Flyvbjerg.
Yet Again, Culprits for Gentrification Escape Blame
A restaurant critic wonders if they deserve blame for furthering gentrification in San Francisco. It’s an interesting, and utterly counterproductive, question.
Litigation Over Housing Elements Focuses on Peninsula
Housing advocates are lawyering up to force Bay Area cities to produce more housing.
YIMBY Lawyers Sue 12 Bay Area Cities
Coming just days after the region’s RHNA deadline the lawsuits suggest pitched battle ahead over the Bay Area’s housing targets — and maybe even a Builder’s Remedy battle or two.
State Rewards Housing-Friendly Cities with “Prohousing” Designation
Attempting to ease tensions between cities and the state, HCD is given out the planning equivalent of gold stars.
New Los Angeles Mayor Picks Unnecessary Fights over “Luxury” Housing
Los Angeles needs every type of housing. Mayor Karen Bass doesn’t know that yet.
The Top Stories of 2022
2022 was an unusually action-packed year in California planning
Economic Headwinds Push Back on State Housing Goals
California desperately needs housing, but inflation and interest rates may hinder production.
Rating California’s New Transit Lines and Extensions
New public transit lines, extensions, and major upgrades have been opening up all over California lately. CP&DR reviews the impacts of these transformative, and not-so-transformative, projects.
Housing (Mostly) Wins on Local Ballots
But measures calling for increased housing development potential met decidedly mixed results.