California
Powering L.A.'s Future Without Breaking the Bank
Through determined investment, L.A. is on track to generate a third of its power from renewables by 2020. Varun Sivaram, formerly Mayor Villaraigosa's senior advisor on energy and water policy, explains how the city must modernize its power system.
Navigating the American Carbon Market
Gary Gero, President of Climate Action Reserve, discusses his organization's work drafting carbon offset protocols for the California Air Resources Board's cap-and-trade program.
To Reform CEQA, Return to its Roots
Rick Cole, the former City Manager of Ventura, California, and a well-known civic leader in Southern California, defends the need for CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) while calling for returning to the law's key roots.
Simplifying Transit-Adjacent Real Estate Development
In a talk delivered at last December’s US High Speed Rail Conference in Los Angeles, Allan Kotin of Allan D. Kotin and Associates outlined the short-term decisions that can lead to long-term returns on transit-oriented development.
Can California's Delta Plan Balance Infrastructure Investment with Environmental Protections?
Jerry Meral, Deputy Secretary of Resources in California, discusses balancing myriad stakeholders and goals in pushing for Governor Brown's controversial Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta plan.
Complete Streets Gaining Speed
A new report details the growing adoption of Complete Streets policies in locales across the United States, despite the removal of a Complete Streets provision from the recent federal transportation bill.
California Bankruptcies May Increase Without Structural Changes
Chris McKenzie, Executive Director of the California League of Cities, discusses the specter of bankruptcy and the structural difficulties cities face in addressing their fiscal deficits. The San Bernardino bankruptcy does not mean the worst is over.
CEQA Reform May Solve California's Ethical Dilemma
Former California governors and Southern California Leadership Council members George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis discuss the necessity of modernizing one of the state's oldest environmental laws in order to protect the state's economy.
Slow Progress on America's High-Speed Rail Efforts
Milton Lindsay examines America's efforts to build a national system of high-speed trains and finds mixed results in the nation's eleven intended corridors.
Incentivizing Healthier Placemaking
A June panel, ‘Experiencing Healthier Places’, at the AIA Design Conference in LA looked at the roles that professional planners and architects can have in fostering a healthier society through the built environment.
Dissolving L.A's Community Redevelopment Agency
Richard Close, a member of the Oversight Board supervising the dissolution of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, discusses the challenges of defining 'enforceable obligations' and the legal battles he anticipates in the coming year.
Haggling Over High-Speed Rail Funds
Burgess Everett and Adam Snider look at the growing debate over where to allocate limited high-speed rail funds: on the East Coast, where rail already has a foothold, or out West, where California has the land and starter funds to make it happen.
How Can We Create Effective Regional Planning?
Kaid Benfield looks at shortcomings of the dominant national apparatus for regional planning - the Metropolitan Planning Organization - through the lens of transportation, and pines for new mechanisms for regional cooperation.
Straight Talk on the Dissolution of California Redevelopment Agencies
A panel of distinguished Angelenos recently discussed the missteps that led to the dissolution of California's redevelopment agencies, the hole that their closure creates, and the possible paths forward.
Framing California's Water Infrastructure Challenges
Jeff Kightlinger of the Metropolitan Water District and Phil Isenberg of the Delta Stewardship Council illustrate the state of California's water delivery system today. As population grows and infrastructure ages, an onerous task lies ahead.
How to Dissolve a Community Redevelopment Agency in California
An interview with Tim McOsker, one of the three appointees charged by Governor Jerry Brown to wind down the affairs of the Los Angeles CRA, reveals an insider's experience of the complexities of respecting contracts and mandates.
Understanding the Water-Energy Nexus
In a long read published in Places, Austin Troy delves into the complicated nexus between the need to increase water resources and decrease energy use, which are both exacerbated by, and exacerbate, climate change.
California High Speed Rail Could Use Some Spanish Lessons
Tim Sheehan investigates the lessons -- both successes and mistakes -- that can be learned from Spain's 20-year history with high speed trains.
Redevelopment Will Come Back in California -- But Will It Be Reformed?
The State Supreme Court struck down redevelopment. Now it's up to the political players in California to strike a deal to bring it back. Can they do it? And what will the state's price be?
California Supreme Court Rules to Eliminate Redevelopment Agencies
The court's decision is likely to have far-reaching effects on how cities in California finance and facilitate urban redevelopment.
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
