What to plant (and what to remove) in California's new 'Zone Zero' fire-safety proposal After years of debate between fire officials seeking total vegetation removal within the first 5 feet of homes and ecologists backing selective landscaping, California proposed a compromise.

Changes seem good but overall it's really goofy and not responsive to the fires destroying neighborhoods

I guess the studio liked it enough to make a steel book! …which is nice. 😅

Trump Is Said to Be in Talks to Send Afghans Who Aided U.S. Forces to Congo

This is so heinous, I do not know what to say. This shit devastates me.

Trump Is Said to Be in Talks to Send Afghans Who Aided U.S. Forces to Congo www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/w...

3 years into the 8-year RHNA cycle, Marin's cities and towns are only 8% of the way to the promised number of permits issued.

Novato and San Rafael are doing well in the number of *approved* units, but some of those are struggling to get building permits or are being reduced in scope.

New faregates are great, but the decade-long saga it took for several agencies to stumble towards the right design while e.g. PATCO had paddle gates since 2007 is downright shameful and a waste of millions to venders

Opinion | Older Americans Are Hoarding America’s Potential

"Raise taxes on wealthy older adults" is terrible politics but good policy. Property tax exemptions for older homeowners stem from good intentions but are actually regressive, because they reduce the availability of homes for younger, less wealthy renters.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/o...

I think Insurance Commissioner of California is the most impossible job on the planet, and that’s why it should not be an elected position

Bill to Exempt L.A. from Housing Density Near-Transit Bill Heads to the Senate Housing Committee Tomorrow - Streetsblog California L.A. Metro and many Southern California city leaders are pushing for SB 1361, which would essentially carve L.A. County out from last year's pro-transit-oriented housing legislation SB 79

Stop me if you've heard this, but I feel strongly that suburban cities that want tax dollars for transit but don't want the housing that makes transit fiscally sustainable should get zero tax dollars.

Not just for transit, but in general.

Bankrupt moochers, IMO cal.streetsblog.org/2026/04/20/b...

Honestly the most worrying thing about Becerra is that he just doesn't seem to have thought about the housing crisis very much. Dealing with the housing crisis is and will continue to be the California governor's #1 job.

Safeway is partnering with a homebuilder to build nearly 4,000 homes on underused parking lots across five Bay Area sites — a direct result of state housing law, AB 2011.

www.sfgate.com/local/articl...

🤷🏼

Good thoughts on planning and public outreach here.

Also good for agencies to be clear with the public about the purpose of the meeting - is it to ask about X? Or is it to inform about a decision or a proposal?

1/ @yonahfreemark.com wrote an interesting piece about how to improve public engagment in the US, which he correctly notes is relevant not just to transportation projects, but also housing and climate. @thefoxandthecity.com has a good thread about it below. As a former pollster, I have thoughts!

The surprising origin of 4 features that superglue kids — and adults — to screens Taken together, these four features can create a trancelike state that can keep us stuck on social media apps or video games for hours. Children are particularly vulnerable.

Taken together, these four features can create a trancelike state that can keep us stuck on social media apps or video games for hours. Children are particularly vulnerable. n.pr/4mH6i6s

How Much Community Outreach Does the Urban Institute Think Italy and Turkey Do? The Urban Institute just published a brief about community outreach for public transportation construction projects. The authors are Yonah Freemark, Gabe Samuels, and Christina Plerhoples Stacy; I …

Pedestrian Observations: How Much Community Outreach Does the Urban Institute Think Italy and Turkey Do? pedestrianobservations.com/2026/04/20/h...

SINGLE STAIR FANS: Congratulations to @stephenjacobsmith.com for clearing hurdle 3 (of 4) with his proposal E24 to expand the IBC's allowance for single stair. Don't want to count any chickens, but unless fire officials mount a nationwide "Stop E24" campaign, this should be in the 2027 IBC. 1/2

This is, without question, a Los Angeles Urban Planning Moment™

It was a lot of fun to talk cosmology and Star Trek with @miquai.bsky.social for this podcast episode!

Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" in 1947. The song became one of her biggest hits. Photo credit: Library of Congress.

#ResistanceRoots

Today in history, 1939: Billie Holiday first records “Strange Fruit” for the independent label Commodore Records. The song, which protests the lynching of Black Americans, became her biggest-selling record and a definitive anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. /1

How Finland Nearly Ended Homelessness (Housing First Works) Finland's Housing First program cut homelessness 70%+ since 2008 — no rehab required, no conditions. Here's exactly how it worked and the real results.

Finland’s “Housing First”: Instead of requiring ppl to solve their problems before getting housing, it provides permanent housing 1st w/out preconditions.
It’s abt changing perspectives, prioritizing human dignity & proving that long-term solutions are possible.” positivity.org/good-news/fi...

I just wrote a long email to the CA Senate Housing Committee asking them to vote against this.

Bill to Exempt L.A. from Housing Density Near-Transit Bill Heads to the Senate Housing Committee Tomorrow - Streetsblog California L.A. Metro and many Southern California city leaders are pushing for SB 1361, which would essentially carve L.A. County out from last year's pro-transit-oriented housing legislation SB 97

LA Metro will shoot its shot on getting itself removed from last year's #SB79 at tomorrow's Senate Housing Committee.
cal.streetsblog.org/2026/04/20/b...

Vote-splitting in California’s crowded primary for governor could lock Democrats out of the general election.

As a result, Betty Yee & other Dems have faced intense pressure to drop out.

Ranked choice voting would let candidates run without splitting the vote.

Uproar over killing of mama bear could help launch a state wildlife coexistence program California lawmakers are considering mandating the use of nonlethal ways to help allow wildlife and humans to coexist.

California's wildlife and communities need more support for coexistence. We're urging @governor.ca.gov to support SB 1135 to establish the Wildlife Coexistence Program.

This program would provide public education, technical assistance, and nonlethal deterrents like barriers and noise machines.

This is just one of several bizarre edits to the up-to-now useless Corridor Transitions program that the city is proposing to make the program generate housing in SB 79 transit zones. The changes feel hastily written and kind of nonsensical. A quick 🧵:

Housing Demand Isn't Fake - Better Columbia Why do people assume that demand for expensive apartments is fraudulent? If you follow housing news in Canada at all, you’re surely familiar with two competing ideas for what’s to blame for the housin...

Is housing demand fake? Absolutely not, writes Will Dawson
#bcpoli #housing #yyj #vanpoli

Embedded Planning Praxis Returns to Whittier College The Strength of Street Knowledge: Embedded Planning as Community-Based Praxis This talk introduces a new method of urban planning called Embedded Planning Praxis. Embedded Planning revolutionizes p…

Embedded Planning Praxis returns to Whittier College 📍 Open to all

c1typlann3r.blog/2026/04/19/e...

Should development be extinguished on California’s fire-prone hills? - Reveal Sonoma County’s hillsides are particularly picturesque and expensive. Their history of fire and development is instructive because it is so typical.

I'm not convinced that US model codes do much for wooden homes in extreme fire zones.

“Conventional wildfire planning suggests that newer homes, built to tougher fireproofing standards, would fare better than older ones. But an analysis of Cal Fire data from the Tubbs Fire defies that logic:..."

LA’s ‘mansion tax’ hits the Capitol

Absolutely crazy that there is still a coalition that denies that Measure ULA is preventing apartments from being built. Just exempt multifamily and commercial properties so you can actually tax mansions!

Transforming a Stockholm shopping centre into a vibrant center Solna Centrum continues to function as an active civic hub centred around its shopping centre, attracting many people throughout the day. However, its inward-facing structure, together with surroundin...

not me staring at gehl's proposal to transform a shopping center into a mixed use and highly livable District with abundant open space and high-quality public realm

and wondering why we won't ever see anything like this (siiiiigh)

www.gehlpeople.com/projects/tra...