Loath as I am to make grand pronouncements, I think Bay Meadows, the 83-acre project in San Mateo, is possibly the best plan I've seen for a transit oriented development. 

One of the least scenic ways to visit Napa Valley is to enter from the south, through the industrial zone between the cities of American Canyon and Napa. The congested traffic and office parks near Highway 221 are a long ways from the idyllic pastoral stretches to the north.

Transportation costs associated with a community are a good predictor of housing foreclosure rates, according to a new study commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The peer-reviewed statistical analysis found that, after accounting for variable factors, foreclosure rates in automobile-dependent fringe neighborhoods are higher than in "location efficient" neighborhoods in which residents spend less of their income on transportation, according to the NRDC.

The second and final phase of the Playa Vista development near Playa del Rey appears headed toward approval in early 2010, as the Los Angeles Planning Commission recommended approval of the project earlier this month.

The City of Irvine has agreed to pay the neighboring City of Newport Beach $3.65 million to settle a lawsuit over Irvine’s approval of a mixed-use plan for 2,760 acres. The Irvine Business Complex plan seeks to bring as many as 15,000 housing units in mixed-use developments to an area near John Wayne Airport that is currently dominated by office buildings and industrial parks. >>read more

The broad, concrete shoulders of Interstate 5 divide the Docks development parcel from the rest of Sacramento. Until recently, this 43-acre triangle of land remained almost entirely out of sight and out of mind. Now, the city is weighing several plans for large-scale homebuilding plans and parks on the riverfront.

A developer is proposing a new town of up to 6,800 housing units and 2.5 million square feet of commercial and industrial space in the northwest corner of San Benito County, just across the boundary of Santa Clara County. >>read more