This post from BLDGBLOG looks at the ghost of a planned but never realized subdivision on the outskirts of a Southern California exurb where only faint lines of unfinished roads remain.
"Visible from above now are a series of badly paved streets carved into the dust and gravel, like some peculiarly American response to the Nazca Lines (or even the labyrinth at Chartres cathedral). The uninhabited street plan has become an abstract geoglyph-unintentional land art visible from airplanes-not a thriving community at all."
Images from Google Maps and Street View detail the abandoned development -- a "mirage of suburbia".
FULL STORY: California City
In A Sign of the Times, Failed Development Demolished
A stalled housing development in a Los Angeles exurb meets the wrecking ball as completing the development became too unaffordable.
Midburbs: A New Definition of Suburbs
When the name “suburb” just doesn't quite fit.
First Model Homes Revealed in Disney-Built Community
Disney’s Cotino, in the Southern California desert, is the first of the company’s ‘Storybook Living’ developments.
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.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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Planning for Universal Design
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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