Blogs

For the past century or so, two industries have both fueled Los Angeles’s local economy and defined its civic image: Hollywood and real estate. Now that both are faltering, it's worth thinking about their communalities -- and their woeful indifference to each other. 

This is the moment for planners and planning. Although the driving force of recovery is to quickly build back what was lost, it’s also an opportunity for considering the future and how to incorporate resilience and other community improvements into the rebuild

Josh Stephens reflects on what the L.A. wildfires mean for California, as he watches the blaze from his apartment on the edge of the evacuation zone.

Populations change even if they don't grow. That's why California needs more housing even though the population is stagnant. 

Nevada officials want Las Vegas to expand even further, by opening federal land to development. As too many places in California illustrate, that's a recipe for sprawl, but not for a better city. 

Using a clever combination of local and state housing incentives, Costco is getting into the housing business in South Los Angeles

We shouldn't be afraid of autonomous taxis as a safety issue -- they're safer than we crazy drivers are. But can they make our cities better? 

The difference between California and, sadly, many other states is that our decline is taking place by choice.

The Los Angeles firefighters union's opposition to Measure HLA has actually isolated them from ... well, practically everybody else.

Or then again, maybe not -- based on the reactin Josh Stephens got from Realtors in Newport Beach.

One Vancouver-based professor says no. But there's evidence that keeping densities low helps either.

The proposed Solano County new town got more publicity than any planning story in recent memory -- despite being barely a proposal. But maybe California could learn a little from the visionary nature of the whole enterprise.