Seven years ago, Bill Fulton and I wrote a lengthy story for Governing magazine about San Bernardino County. We didn't write the headline, but it was appropriate: "Addicted to Corruption." Apparently, the county still has not entered rehab.

The Southern California Association of Governments has unveiled a new "conceptual land use plan" that concentrates development on a half-million acres of land near rail, bus rapid transit, and local bus lines in the six-county SCAG region. Initial numbers suggest that this plan w

Public policy regarding the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is in an age of "absolutely" and "absolutely nots," according to Jeffrey Mount. But policy could enter an age of reason within a decade, he said.

In a way, San Diego might be the anti-Petaluma. Instead of laying off all the planners like Petaluma is doing, San Diego is investing heavily in long-term planning as an economic development strategy. I should say right up front that it's a bit unfair to compare a suburb of 57,00

It was a sunny summer Saturday the first time I stepped onto the K Street mall in downtown Sacramento. The place was deserted. That was 25 years ago, and Sacramento is still trying to figure out the K Street mall.

As Earth Day approached, I was concerned that I was kicking up a huge carbon footprint while I traveled all over the place helping people figure out how to reduce their carbon footprint.

Last Thursday, the often-nerdy Barack Obama erased all remaining doubt that he is positioning himself as America's "Planner In Chief".

The Petaluma City Council voted April 13 night to eliminate the city's planning staff because of a lack of development activity and a $4.5 million budget deficit. Elimination of a planning department would be a remarkable turn of events anywhere in California, but the fact that t

Oakland civic leaders hope that a proposed new zoning code might help downtown turn the corner. Let's hope they are right.

Last week, driving north from San Diego through Orange County, I engaged in a secret and somewhat twisted pleasure – I ponied up my four-bucks-and-change to get off I-5 and I-405 and traverse the 15 miles from San Juan Capistrano to Costa Mesa on California State Route 73, otherw

Where the burgeoning renewable energy industry sees empty spaces and piles of sand, environmentalists see scenic vistas and fragile habitat for rare flora and fauna. These different views of California's vast deserts are leading to a clash over how to use lands owned by the feder

Our friends over at Planetizen are having too much fun today, which happens to be April 1.