Los Angeles County

Homeless

$2 Billion Bond Measure on California Ballot to House the Mentally Ill Homeless

The revenue bonds would be funded from a millionaires' surtax, approved by voters in 2004, to pay for health programs, but not housing, for the mentally ill. Also on ballot: a $4 billion general obligation bond measure to fund housing for veterans.

July 2, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Gaslamp Quarter

$4.3 Billion Awarded to California Transformative Projects from Gas Tax and Climate Fund

Two difficult votes last year, both requiring super-majorities, are paying huge dividends to 28 transformative projects throughout the Golden State to improve rail and transit service and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

April 30, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Carpool Lane Sticker

Electric Vehicles to Lose Important Perk in Southern California

One of the major reasons for purchasing an electric vehicle in California is the ability to use a carpool lane as a solo driver and use an express lane toll-free. The latter perk will soon disappear for solo-occupant EVs on two freeways.

April 30, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Homeless

L.A. Metro’s Homeless Outreach Teams Report Back

The transit agency's year-long experiment with homeless services has placed 19 people in permanent housing and spurred hopes of expanding the program.

March 28, 2018 - KPCC

Oil Pump in Los Angeles

Study: L.A. County's Urban Oil Wells Are Too Close to Homes and Schools

The Department of Public Health recommends taking action to better protect residents from oil operations that are sometimes only a few feet from where people live, work, eat, play and study.

March 7, 2018 - KPCC

Interstate Highway

A Traffic Solution 'Straight Out of the 1950s'

That's how the Los Angeles Times editorial board characterized the $6 billion plan by Los Angeles Metro to widen the 710 freeway. "A waste of money," they assert. Key to the solution is how to deal with goods movement from the seaport complex.

February 26, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Gold Line Preview

Southern California's Declining Transit Ridership, Explained

More Southern Californians are purchasing motor vehicles, particularly those who were previously transit-dependent, which largely explains the region's declining transit ridership, according to a newly released study.

February 9, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

South Central Los Angeles

What Community-Based Zoning Enforcement Looks Like in South Central Los Angeles

Passion for urban planning, love of South Central LA communities, and historical background of the neighborhoods combine in this personal account by Jonathan P. Bell of community-based zoning enforcement.

February 6, 2018 - UrbDeZine

A $48 Million Bet on the 'L.A. Model' of Juvenile Justice

With Campus Kilpatrick, Los Angeles County has made a serious investment in progressive design to support progressive programming.

January 29, 2018 - Metropolis Magazine

Expo Line

L.A. Transit Ridership Drops 15 Percent in 5 Years Despite New Light Rail Extensions

Bus riders, comprising about three-quarters of Los Angeles Metro ridership, declined 21 percent since 2013, But it wasn't just bus routes—two light rail lines also lost riders.

January 29, 2018 - Los Angeles Times

Inglewood, California

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."

November 29, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Metro Los Angeles

The L.A. Metro 'Megaproject' Connecting Downtown and Southeast L.A. County

The West Santa Ana Branch light rail would offer new infrastructure and economic activity to a transit-dependent part of the county.

October 2, 2017 - The Planning Report

Affordable Housing

The Unequal Distribution of Public Housing Across Los Angeles

KPCC has published an interactive map showing the publicly funded affordable housing developments in Los Angeles County.

August 31, 2017 - KPCC

Metro Rapid Bus

Los Angeles Metro Takes Initial Step Toward Conversion to Electric Buses by 2030

The board of L.A. Metro voted Thursday to spend $138 million to purchase 95 electric buses plus chargers and wiring upgrades for two transit lines that now use natural gas buses, and approved a motion to convert all buses to battery-electrics by 2030

July 30, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Metro Buses

Los Angeles Metro Begins Conversion to Renewable Natural Gas Buses

At a June 22 meeting, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board ordered 295 buses that will be fueled with renewable natural gas. An expected purchase of 35 electric buses was delayed until next month's meeting.

July 1, 2017 - NGT News

Los Angeles Galaxy Soccer Team

Southern California City Pins Hopes for Transformation on General Plan Update

The struggling, industrial South Bay city of Carson wants to shake its image as the site of Los Angeles' landfills and waste treatment plants. It has embarked on a $1 million overhaul of its general plan, despite having a $4.1 million budget gap.

June 22, 2017 - Daily Breeze

Zero Emissions Bus

Los Angeles Metro to Go Fully Electric by 2030

The move is risky. The agency has no electric buses now, and the last ones it operated performed so badly they had to be returned. The plan is to make the transition in phases, and hope that battery technology improves.

June 20, 2017 - KPCC

Renewable Natural Gas and Electricity Should Power Los Angeles Bus Fleet

It's not one or the other but both, argues Denny Zane of Move LA in a guest commentary for the Los Angeles Daily News about the decision that Los Angeles County Metro will make on June 22 on the future of the nation's second largest bus fleet.

June 12, 2017 - Los Angeles Daily News

Skid Row

Homeless Numbers Continue to Rise in and Around Los Angeles

Rents continue to rise in Los Angeles and more people are living in their cars.

June 3, 2017 - Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Metro

Successful Ballot Measures Spell Doom for Transit Funding in Trump's 2018 Budget

President Trump points to the passage of multi-billion ballot measures last November as proof that federal funding isn't needed to fund transit, justifying elimination of a major grants program. The CEOs of two large transit agencies fight back.

May 30, 2017 - The Source

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.

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The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

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A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.