San Diego

San Diego Rail

San Diego City Council Prohibits Short-Term Rentals in Second Homes and ADUs

In a move to limit the number of properties available for rental, the San Diego City Council members voted 6-3 to limit rentals to primary homes and the licensing process more strict.

July 24, 2018 - San Diego Union Tribune

San Diego, California

San Diego Not Even Close to Meeting Permanent Housing Goals for Homeless

The city’s new $6.5 million "bridge shelters" are providing a place to stay, but not accomplishing what they set out to do.

June 28, 2018 - San Diego Union-Tribune

Wind Turbines

Opinion: Government-Controlled Energy Won't Get Cities to 100 Percent Renewable

A Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a key tool for the Climate Action Plan of many California cities. According to one former mayor, they don't work.

June 26, 2018 - Sacramento Bee

San Diego Gaslamp District

Looking Back to Find the Future of San Diego

An advocacy group is republishing the 1974 regional plan for sustainability, and finding that it's just as relevant now as it was then.

June 13, 2018 - Bisnow

Salesforce Tower and 181 Fremont

California Getting Way More New Jobs Than New Housing

Even with tons of building permits already issued this year, the outlook for the state’s affordability crisis is pretty grim.

May 21, 2018 - The Mercury News

Golden Gate

California Population Grows to 39,810,000 in 2017

California added 309,000 residents last year, an 8 percent drop compared to annual increases since 2010. The state added a net 85,000 housing units, accounting for losses to wildfires.

May 11, 2018 - SF Gate

Los Angeles Harbor Freeway

California Has 8 of the 10 Most Polluted Cities in the U.S.

Despite ever-stricter air-quality regulations and dropping emissions, the American Lung Association once again finds the state to have some of the worst air in the nation.

April 24, 2018 - USA Today

San Diego Merchants Call for Halt to Dockless Bikeshare Operations

Public bikeshare arrived in San Diego in 2014. Last month, three companies unleashed thousands of dockless bikes, cluttering sidewalks in three business districts to the chagrin of merchants who want a time-out so the city can develop regulations.

March 12, 2018 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

beach Parking

Guess Who's Disrupting the Parking and Valet Business

Ride hailing reduces the need for parking services, as well as parking spaces, and parking companies are feeling the effects. New data comes from a major U.S. parking management company based in San Diego, thanks to the Union-Tribune.

February 27, 2018 - San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego Harbor

After the Drought, San Diego Faces Lead and Sewage

In 2017, the Southern California city no longer had to be concerned about water quantity, but was plagued by issues of water quality.

January 3, 2018 - Voice of San Diego

A Review of a San Diego Homeless Shelter by One of its Clients

Orlando Barahona has chronicled his experience as a homeless person, as well as his ideas for addressing the homelessness crisis, in various publications and his own blog. In this post, he reviews a homeless shelter in which he is a "client."

December 27, 2017 - UrbDeZine

Homelessness

Hepatitis A Outbreak Spurring Cities to New Actions on Homelessness

A series of articles from around the Internet in recent weeks highlights the need for more services and support for the homeless. The location of this story is set in California, but all communities should heed these warnings.

December 8, 2017 - Wired

Palm Springs

San Diego Explores its Options for Getting to 100 Percent Renewable Energy

San Diego's Climate Action Plan has set an ambitious goal for renewable energy, and now the investor-owned utility San Diego Gas & Electric is competing for a chance to deliver on those goals.

November 29, 2017 - San Diego Union Tribune

More 'Free Ride Everywhere Downtown' for San Diego

The Free Ride Everywhere Downtown (FRED) shuttle system in San Diego is so popular that demand sometimes overwhelms the number of available shuttles. The city has redoubled its commitment to the system.

November 23, 2017 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego Construction

San Diego Inclusionary Zoning Program Makes Headway

San Diego's Affordable Homes Bonus Program (AHBP), launched in mid-2016, increases incentives for projects that incorporate more affordable units. Developers are taking notice.

November 7, 2017 - Next City

California Homeless

Key Failures That Led to San Diego's Homeless Crisis

San Diego has one of the largest homeless populations in the country. Years of neglect by the city has led to a recent Hepatitis A outbreak, killing 20 people to date. Poverty lawyer Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi identifies eight failures by the city.

November 3, 2017 - UrbDeZine

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System

San Diego's Journey From First to Worst in Public Transit and What Could Turn it Around

For much of the 20th century, San Diego led the nation in public transit firsts. Unfortunately, the region has slipped to the bottom of national transit rankings. Planning activist Murtaza Baxamusa explains how it happened and the needed reform.

October 17, 2017 - UrbDeZine

Gaslamp Quarter

Power Shifts to Cities in San Diego County's Embattled Regional Planning Agency

Larger cities in California's second most populous county will be given more power thanks to a bill that reforms the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). One result may be that more public transit measures appear on the ballot.

October 16, 2017 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

California Homeless

Lessons From San Diego's Hepatitis A Outbreak

Voice of San Diego reports in detail about the months of warning San Diego officials had about the spread of Hepatitis A in public areas around the city. Still, prevention measures took a back seat to bureaucracy.

September 27, 2017 - Voice of San Diego

San Diego metropolitan Transit System

San Diego Activists Plan a Pedestrian Promenade and 'Nudillo'

Activists organized to save their downtown San Diego neighborhoods from the NFL Chargers' stadium proposal. Their defense strategy? A fine-grained community plan with no stadium. In the process, they came upon the idea of a promenade and a "Nudillo."

July 18, 2017 - UrbDeZine

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

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