Paul Shigley's blog
California's Best And Worst Mid-Sized City Downtowns
10 September 2007 - 4:48pmWhen people think of downtowns, they often think of huge cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. But anybody familiar with California knows that the big city downtowns are the exceptions. By and large, California is a state of mid-sized cities, and some of the most delightful urban places are the smaller downtowns. Often in older cities, these districts are manageable, pleasant and, very often these days, in the midst of a strong renaissance.
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Joel Ellinwood: Transit Tales
9 October 2008 - 1:36pmOne of my personal commitments during the last year or so to a more sustainable future is to take the train and transit whenever I travel if time and routes permit.
» read moreMore Than Ever, Planners Need To Understand Markets
7 October 2008 - 11:34amWith news of yet another Wall Street icon or banking giant tumbling arriving on an almost daily basis, the Congress and Bush administration enacting a massive $700 billion bailout to prevent a complete meltdown (which is probably only the first installment), and the stock market gyrating wildly with each new shockwave, planners may wonder what all this may mean for planning practice (that is, after they finish anguishing over their own pension plan or investment portfolio).
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Conference Introduces The Vertical, Transit-Oriented L.A.
25 September 2008 - 9:05amNew mixed-use and adaptive reuse projects are located all around the conference site in Hollywood, often within easy walking distance of a Red Line subway station. Conference attendees who ventured onto the Red Line encountered a bustling public transit system no matter the time of day.
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Planners And Climate Change – Saving The World Is Hard
23 September 2008 - 10:33pmAt last year’s CCAPA conference, planners embraced the issue of climate change this gusto. They clearly saw climate change as their issue, and the conversation was very enthusiastic, even somewhat heady at times.
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State Budget And SB 375: Incompatible Priorities
16 September 2008 - 11:03amOnly three weeks after insisting that California should encourage dense development near transit lines, state lawmakers have approved a budget that yanks funding from transit and redevelopment.
And that might be the nicest thing that anyone can say about the spending and revenue plan approved after last call on Monday night (Tuesday morning, actually).
Colusa County Cold On Proposed New Town
12 September 2008 - 11:49am» read more
Blinded By The Light In Downtown L.A.
11 September 2008 - 9:11amThe proposal by Anschutz Entertainment Group to install the equivalent of a football field in signs and lighted billboards in front of the LA Live development near the Los Angeles Convention Center is a glaringly bad idea. AEG’s proposal is over-reaching and garish.
» read moreBudget Stalemate Continues; Redevelopment Still Threatened
9 September 2008 - 2:39pmThe state budget stalemate may get handed to the new Legislature that is seated in December. In the meantime, lawmakers could pass a series of emergency resolutions authorizing the state to pay its bills.
Last week, people were whispering about this scenario. Now, they are speaking out loud about it. After the 21-13 defeat of the Republican budget proposal in the Senate on Monday, it’s clear that lawmakers and the governor are no closer to a budget resolution today than they were in June.
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Obama Snubs Planning
29 August 2008 - 12:53pm» read more

