Land Use
Balancing fire risk and housing
How can California reconcile the dual needs of managing for fire risk and producing more housing?
This is the last in a series of four blog posts discussing the issue of development in the wildland-urban interface in California, the current legal structures addressing the issue, and our research on how those legal frameworks are being applied on the ground in key counties in the state. In this blog post, we’ll discuss …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat is being built in the WUI?
What our data says about development in the WUI in California
This is the third in a series of four blog posts discussing the issue of development in the wildland-urban interface in California, the current legal structures addressing the issue, and our research on how those legal frameworks are being applied on the ground in key counties in the state. In this blog post, we summarize …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Law in the WUI
California’s legal framework for development in the wildland-urban interface
This is the second in a series of four blog posts discussing the issue of development in the wildland-urban interface in California, the current legal structures addressing the issue, and our research on how those legal frameworks are being applied on the ground in key counties in the state. These blog posts summarize our recent …
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CONTINUE READINGBuilding to Burn
Examining whether California law facilitates development in fire-prone areas
All too many Californians have lost their homes, and even their lives, as fires have raced through exurbs, suburbs, and even portions of towns and cities over the past several years. A key issue that policymakers are wrestling with is the extent to which new development has increased the risk to people and property from …
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CONTINUE READINGNew Frameworks to Address Vehicle Travel Impacts
CLEE report proposes banking and exchange strategies for CEQA mitigation
When Caltrans and other state and local agencies build or approve projects that increase car traffic, state law requires them to mitigate those impacts. A new report from CLEE proposes development of state and regional programs that would allow these agencies to mitigate by investing in offsite bike lanes, bus-only lanes, transit passes, and other …
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CONTINUE READINGAn Abundance Research Agenda
If we need to build lots of things fast to address climate and housing crises, how will we do that?
There’s been a lot of buzz about this column by Ezra Klein in the New York Times. Klein’s basic argument: We need to do a lot of infrastructure and other development projects to make the world a better place. For example, we’ll need to build power lines and renewable projects to address climate change. But …
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CONTINUE READINGMy Kind of Town
Climate change is coming to Chicago and Lake Michigan.
“My kind of town, Chicago is my kind of town.” Or so Frank Sinatra sang. I’m not sure he really felt that way himself, but the song rings a chord with me. I didn’t grow up in Chicago but we visited frequently to see my parents’ families. Chicago is also, as it turns out, ground …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Energy Conservation Will Remain Crucial
Even after switching to clean power, we’ll still need to limit energy use.
If we switch to renewables, we won’t need to worry about saving energy. Right? Wrong! One reason to save energy is to limit carbon emissions from the energy we use. That’s going to important until the energy system has been completely cleaned up. But energy conservation is important for reasons that go beyond the direct …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate Candidates Notch Victories in Major City Council Races Across Western U.S.
Voters choose new candidates with strong climate platforms in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and other large cities across the West
While ballot counting continues across the country, city council races are now being called, with new climate champions set to take office in large Western U.S. cities that held elections this week. Many of the victors are taking on their first elected positions. Candidates with inspiring and ambitious climate platforms notched victories in six large …
CONTINUE READINGLearning Lessons from Los Angeles’s TOC Program
Challenges and opportunities as TOC continues to drive affordable housing production
I’ve written before about Los Angeles’ Transit Oriented Communities (TOC) Program, an inclusionary housing program designed to allow for increased density in residential and mixed-use projects near major transit stops in exchange for a developer commitment to include a set percentage of affordable housing units in those projects. Since implementation began in late 2017, the …
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