Land Use
Is Environmentalism Bad for Fighting Climate Change?
Sure, it sounds like a paradox. The environmental movement has done a lot of good for the planet and for pollution. But in the face of the greatest environmental threat of our time, the movement may be fundamentally ill-suited to tackle the climate crisis. For most of its history, environmentalism has essentially been about stopping …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Bonneville Salt Flats can teach us about CEQA exemptions
The Bonneville Salt Flats need to be saved. The location where many of the world-records for land speed have been set is in danger. A combination of years of racing, plus the construction of Interstate 80 and alterations in salt mining techniques has meant that the hard salt surface of the flats (similar in hardness …
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CONTINUE READINGMay 17th Sacramento Lunch on California Infill Policies, Featuring State Sen. pro Tem Darrell Steinberg
For those planning to be in the Sacramento area next Thursday, May 17th, please join us for a lunch event on California’s land use policies, featuring a keynote address by State Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. Here are the details: The Future of Infill: How CEQA Reform and the End of Redevelopment Will Affect …
CONTINUE READINGNext American City
…might sound like a new reality show, but NAC is one of the best serious but non-academic urban policy and planning journals around. It has recently relaunched, replacing the print edition with what might be called Next American Journalism Model: they are supplementing the daily online content with one very in-depth feature per week, which you can buy …
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CONTINUE READINGLos Angeles’ Expo Line: A Cautionary Tale For Building Rail
This weekend, the long awaited Expo Light Rail Line will finally open in Los Angeles, connecting the traffic-choked Westside with the rest of the city’s rail network, more than two decades after the region’s first modern rail line opened. The relatively short light rail line (8.6 miles, 12 stations) took an absurdly long amount of …
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CONTINUE READINGIs It Green to Occupy a Vacant Urban Lot and Turn It Into a Farm?
A local branch of the Occupy movement has taken over a parcel of land near my house here in the Bay Area. The parcel is an agricultural research field owned by UC Berkeley. The protestors are apparently upset that Berkeley is considering turning some of its land into a development: specifically, senior housing, and commercial …
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CONTINUE READINGNew Summary Report on California’s Law to Streamline Environmental Review of Infill Projects
As this blog has chronicled, California has undertaken some ambitious efforts to streamline environmental review for certain infill projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). One of the most recent and potentially far-reaching attempts, SB 226 (Simitian, 2011), creates an in-depth administrative process to define the standards for what constitutes a “good” infill project. …
CONTINUE READINGU.C. Davis Issues Nitrates in Drinking Water Study
The University of California at Davis has issued an important new study assessing the public health hazards associated with nitrates in California drinking water. The study, led by U.C. Davis Professors Thomas Harter and Jay Lund, contains some important and disturbing findings. The full study can be found here, the Executive Summary here. The new …
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CONTINUE READINGStopping High Speed Sprawl
California Governor Jerry Brown has doubled down on his support for the state’s proposed high speed rail system, despite the uncertainty about how to pay for it and growing public opposition. But who can blame him? If the rail system does get built, it will be the defining infrastructure project in the state for generations …
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CONTINUE READINGU.S. Supreme Court Rejects Montana’s River Ownership Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued its decision in PPL Montana v. State of Montana, a fascinating case that combines the colorful history of the American West, the issue of the public’s access to state waterways, and a dispute over hefty royalties claimed to be owed the State of Montana for unpermitted use of public …
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