A history of segregation and other barriers have made California's beaches and oceanfront disproportionately white.
Legislators and activists around California are trying new tactics to get people to the beach who seldom get the opportunity to go or would, in the past, have been unwelcome there. "Their efforts range from encouraging inexpensive and culturally sensitive coastal lodging, to forcing the state to consider the impacts of coastal development on poorer, often minority residents,"Jill Replogle reports for High Country News.
When surveyed, many black and Latino Californians who chose not to go to the beach cited an inability to swim. This is an issue that organizations like Azul and the Surf Bus Foundation have worked to address. Another difficulty has to do with infrastructure. "Limited public transportation is also a problem, though Los Angeles recently expanded metro service to within a few blocks of the popular Santa Monica shoreline," Replogle writes.
FULL STORY: Making the California coast public for all
L.A.'s Long History of Informal Housing
The story of informal housing is one of changing racial and class demographics, economic opportunity and needs, and regulatory control.
When Whites Return to the Black Neighborhoods They Fled
Los Angeles Times op-ed writer Erin Aubry Kaplan shares her feelings upon seeing whites return to Inglewood, California half a century after they fled. One consistent theme emerges: "Whatever black people have can be taken away."
'Surfer Gang' Beach Fort Causes Problems
A rowdy collection of Palos Verdes surfers, some of them middle-aged, will resort to criminal tactics to keep outsiders away from their favorite spot. They've even built a fort, and officials are having trouble getting rid of it.
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.
This Toronto Suburb Has More Bus Riders Than Columbus, Ohio
Brampton, Ontario used gradual improvements in service to prove that if you build it, they will ride.
Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution
The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.
Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas
Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
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