The Mayors of West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Culver City, and the Vice Mayor of Beverly Hills discuss local redevelopment and planning in the face of state intervention. The conversation centers on politics, projects, transportation, and parking.
While some cities deal with stalled projects due to a listless economy, the Westside cities of Los Angeles County are knee-deep in public and private developments. Mayors John Duran of West Hollywood, Richard Bloom of Santa Monica, Mayor Micheál O'Leary of Culver City and Vice Mayor William Warren Brien of Beverly Hills participated at a panel recently to talk about the possibility of redevelopment going by the wayside.
The Planning Report provides some excerpts from the conversation:
MAYOR BLOOM: "To take money away from these poor cities in order to make the state work is simply an unsustainable and unworkable solution..."
MAYOR DURAN: "I think what they fail to realize is that redevelopment is a tool. Of course there's some calculated risk: financial risk and political risk. You're never popular... There is political risk that we take to do redevelopment."
FULL STORY: WUF Westside Mayors Panel: Just Leave Redevelopment Alone!
Santa Monica Garage-to-Affordable-Housing Conversion To Receive $2 Million
The city has been awarded $2 million in federal funding to support the conversion of a downtown parking structure into an affordable housing project.
What Will Los Angeles Will Do Next On Housing & Water? Look To Their Neighbors
The cities of Santa Monica, Culver CIty, West Hollywood, and Malibu are championing stormwater infrastructure, new public transit, affordable housing, and action on homelessness prevention.
Former DC Army Garage Gets New Life
The fortress-like underground structure posed unique challenges to engineers redeveloping a former U.S. Army complex.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal
The Trump administration is revoking federal support for renewable energy, but demand for new projects continues unabated.
Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification
The new electric trains are running faster and more reliably, leading to strong ridership growth on the Bay Area rail system.
Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation
Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.
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.
Caltrans
Smith Gee Studio
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service