Gail Goldberg, head of San Diego's planning department, will become the General Manager of the Los Angeles City Planning Department, replacing Con Howe, who departed months ago.
"Among her achievements in San Diego was creation of a concept called "City of Villages." The idea is that each village â€" there are five underway â€" will include housing, businesses, schools and public facilities such as libraries, and be pedestrian friendly with access to mass transit.
Goldberg said she does not intend to try the same concept in Los Angeles, but wants to find neighborhoods that want change and help them formulate plans that will foster new development and the amenities that go with it.
San Diego covers about 73 square miles, compared with 465 in Los Angeles. But in the last two decades San Diego has remade its downtown with a new convention center, baseball stadium and the bars and eateries of the Gaslamp Quarter.
...She initially studied economics, switching to planning in her fourth year of studies.
In 1988, at age 45, she was hired as a junior planner in San Diego. She worked her way up the ranks and was made chief of the department in 2001."
FULL STORY: New City Planner Is Named

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

USDOT Revokes Approval for NYC Congestion Pricing
Despite the administration’s stated concern for the “working class,” 85 percent of Manhattan commuters use public transit to enter the city.

Tiny House Villages for Addressing Homelessness: An Interview with Yetimoni Kpeebi
One researcher's perspective on the potential of tiny homes and owner-built housing as one tool to fight the housing crisis.

Preserving Altadena’s Trees: A Community Effort to Save a Fire-Damaged Landscape
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena Green is working to preserve fire-damaged but recoverable trees, advocating for better assessment processes, educating homeowners, and protecting the community’s urban canopy from unnecessary removal.

The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.

Investigation Reveals Just How Badly California’s Homeless Shelters are Failing
Fraud, violence, death, and chaos follow a billion dollar investment in a temporary solution that is proving ineffective.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc.
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research