The City of Santa Cruz and its University of California campus are struggling to come to terms with the university’s ambitious plans for growth and its impact on the city.
"Located in this northern California seaside city, UC-Santa Cruz has long attracted students who enjoy its laid-back environs and natural beauty. Yet, the university's vision in the next decade and a half to grow enrollment by 30 percent, add 1,500 faculty and staff members, and launch several new professional programs and research centers has many residents up in arms. As a state institution, UC-Santa Cruz is exempt from local land use laws and local taxes, which many say generates excess costs in infrastructure and lost property taxes that taxpayers must bear. To sort out the disputes, citizen groups, the city, and the county have filed lawsuits to halt the university's expansion until it addresses the anticipated problems."
FULL STORY: As College Grows, a City Is Asking, ‘Who Will Pay?’

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

‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.

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.

Ratepayers Could Be on the Hook for Data Centers’ Energy Use
Without regulatory changes, data centers’ high demand for energy would be subsidized by taxpayers, according to a new study.

City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity
The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.

A Lone Voice for Climate: How The Wild Robot Stands Apart in Hollywood
Among this year’s Oscar-nominated films, only The Wild Robot passed the Climate Reality Check, a test measuring climate change representation in storytelling, highlighting the ongoing lack of climate awareness in mainstream Hollywood films.
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.
City of Albany
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