Office buildings continue to lose tenants as the remote work trend persists.

Southern California’s office vacancy rate reached 20 percent at the end of 2023, according to an article by Jonathan Lansner in the
Orange County Register. “Those vacancies would fill 58 US Bank Towers, the 72-story Downtown LA landmark with 1.4 million square feet of office space,” Lansner notes.
Los Angeles led the way with 51 million square feet of vacant office space, or 24 percent of the city’s stock. In Orange County, 18 million vacant square feet amount to 19.6 percent of the region’s offices.
See the source article for a more in-depth breakdown of vacancy rates in different areas and neighborhoods.
FULL STORY: 20% of Southern California offices are empty. Where are the most vacancies?

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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