As a recent San Diego ruling reveals, cities have no choice but to defend their decisions to abide by statutes like the Density Bonus Law. At the same time, they are trying to "thread a needle" to challenge those laws in court.

The famously low-rise city had to approve a six-story apartment building to get out from under an unfavorable 20-year-old land lease.

New Census figures show a sharp increase in multifamily projects approved in 2021. Are SB 35 and other new state laws behind the jump?

The connection to UCSD is a great thing. But San Diego's geography -- and other factors -- may limit its ability to transform.

With dozens of other bills, the Legislature continued to put the squeeze on local governments in the housing arena in 2021.

It ends single-family zoning and clips the wings of local governments. But the bottom line is probably thousands of units, not hundreds of thousands of units.

In turning down a 48-unit condominium project near Beach Boulevard, did Huntington Beach violate the Housing Accountability Act's requirement that findings be based on objective standards? Or will a fire expert's 11th-hour conclusion that one standard was violated be enough to save the city's case?

Census data shows that Blacks are leaving the metropolitan core for the periphery -- but it's less clear whether white gentrification is the reason.

In exchange for vested rights from the City of San Jose, Google has committed to an unprecedented investment in infrastructure, affordable housing, and community benefits.

It's no surprise that the inland areas are still growing. But the big shocker is that the Bay Area is hanging on -- and L.A. is not.

Progressives who have long protected community power over developers are praising Biden's proposed new program, while Republicans are calling it a war on the suburbs.

For Sacramento and Berkeley, the hard part is still coming: How to create a development code that will encourage rather than block other small-scale housing products.

In Marin City, a clever developer is building a project double the allowed size with very little parking and few other amenities -- and the county couldn't do anything to stop it. >>read more

A lifetime urban dweller, Donald Trump was an anti-city president. Biden is a lifelong Amtrak rider -- and California urban planning is likely to change with him at the helm.