How the heck do you plan a city when no one knows what the world of retail sales will look like in 10 years?

PLANNING COMMISSIONERS TRAINING THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2009 CALTRANS DISTRICT 7 HQ LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA The Public Policy Program convenes daylong training sessions designed for planning commissioners from local jurisdictions across the state of California. The sessions provide u

Since our previous blog on the possibility that auto malls – like regional malls – will soon become retail dinosaurs, the California press has glommed onto the idea big time. This is partly, of course, because auto sales are in the news in other ways. A few cities, for example, a

Post-war suburbia has its defenders and its detractors. Recently, I encountered a truly staunch supporter of suburbia and a well-spoken critic. One of them sees black where the other sees white. It was a good reminder of how difficult planning is in California.

If you're in a big hurry to build a road project, environmental review can get in the way. As Bill Fulton reports in this month's Insight column , the state budget pact exempted eight Caltrans projects from the California Environmental Quality Act so that they get built quicker.

Have you registered to attend the nation's premier redevelopment conference? The 2009 CRA Annual Conference & EXPO will feature an outstanding slate of speakers and workshops that will provide attendees with new insights, useful strategies, and practical guidance on how to carry

Need to know where you can find the Timberland Productivity Act in state law? How about the statute governing specific plans? Want to know what the heck the Mills Act really offers to owners of historic properties? Can't figure out where to locate an appellate court opinion that

A few months ago, leaders of the California Building Industry Association started using the term "depression." When you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue that the homebuilding industry is not in a depression, rather than a recession. That's why builders are flogging a new,

We may be witnessing the end of the auto mall as a cash cow for cities. Auto sales nationwide are half what they were a year ago. Perhaps as many as half of all auto dealerships will go under in the current economic downturn. Car buyers have shifted their browsing to the Internet

Urban planners want America to look like Amsterdam, but Americans don't want that lifestyle. So says The New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Twice in the last month, I have used rail transit to get to a big-deal event that would have been a huge hassle to get to any other way. And that experience has reminded me of one of the most often-overlooked advantages of a public transit system: It helps move people to and from

Stockton is the most miserable city in the United States, and Modesto is fifth in misery. So says Forbes magazine in one of its typically provocative lists. The Forbes rankings are actually based on metropolitan statistical areas, so all of San Joaquin County and Stanislaus Count