What Will Happen to California's Orphaned Urban Projects?

Terry Pristin looks at the fallout from the dissolution of California's redevelopment agencies and asks what will come of the hundreds of projects in various stages of completion.

1 minute read

April 12, 2012, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


After the shuttering of the state's 397 community redevelopment agencies was made official on Feb. 1 of this year, local officials began the arduous task of "sifting through billions of dollars' worth of projects to determine which ones qualify as enforceable obligations entered into before June 29, 2011, the date the legislation was signed into law."

According to Pristin, "Of greatest immediate concern is how dissolution will affect the development of housing for people with low and moderate incomes. Since 1979, 20 percent of the property taxes diverted to the agencies had been set aside for this purpose."

With the tentacles of the decades-old redevelopment system reaching wide and deep into California's urban development efforts, the long-term effects of unwinding their obligations are far from clear.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Concrete Brutalism building with slanted walls and light visible through an atrium.

What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities

How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.

February 28, 2025 - Justin Hollander

Complete Street

‘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.

February 27, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Green electric Volkswagen van against a beach backdrop.

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.

March 3, 2025 - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

View of mountains with large shrubs in foreground in Altadena, California.

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.

March 9 - Pasadena NOw

Aerial view of single-family homes with swimming pools in San Diego, California.

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.

March 9 - Axios

Close-up of row of electric cars plugged into chargers at outdoor station.

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.

March 9 - UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation