Thriving places are built by the people who live in them, and the strongest reforms are ones that empower these people to shape their own futures. Here are some of the people who are thriving because of their cities' empowering housing policies.
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Across North America, parking mandates harm businesses, residents and cities. Fortunately, a rapidly growing number of cities are questioning these requirements, inching toward reforming or even repealing them altogether. Here are some of the communities that are rethinking their approaches.
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Back in September, Sacramento became the first city in California to allow multiunit housing in all residential neighborhoods. Here’s what that means for residents seeking housing.
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What do you do when your city is full of illegal backyard cottages that no one can live in but you really need more affordable housing options? If you’re a city official in Berkeley, California, you recognize that one problem can address the other.
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Elected officials across North America are grappling with budget shortfalls and financial uncertainty. Pasadena, California is only one example. Last year, their expenses increased by 13.8% but revenues only rose 0.6%. If things are going to improve, city officials need to take a new approach.
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In this episode, co-hosts Abby Newsham and Chuck Marohn discuss the impact of natural disasters on the insurance industry, the feasibility of government-run insurance programs, and what this might mean for California in the long term.
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Fearing traffic congestion, pollution and water scarcity, the city of Santa Barbara, California, enforced a population cap by preventing the construction of extra housing units. However, 40 years later, the lack of housing is proving to cause these issues more than prevent them.
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In this special collaborative episode, Upzoned host Abby Newsham and The Messy City Podcast host Kevin Klinkenberg discuss small-scale development with Jim Heid, a developer and author from California.
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Developers often have to jump through hoops to get their projects approved by a city. When a Costco branch in California was faced with lengthy waiting periods and public debate, it decided to take a different approach: adding 400,000 square feet of housing to its plans so it qualified for a faster regulatory process.
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Nice, California, doesn’t have nice streets. But it could, if city planners started thinking about road infrastructure in a way that prioritizes safety and walkability over asphalt. Here are a couple of redesign options, inspired by a Crash Analysis Studio held in the city.
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In 2017, California passed a law that was supposed to open up new levels of incremental development. But in many cities, zoning codes still make that development near-impossible. The city of Ukiah is working to change that.
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The financial struggles of Houston and the cities of the Silicon Valley area—as well as tens of thousands of others across North America—have the same underlying cause.
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In Capitola, California, residents erupted in protest after Debra Towne, a beloved local senior, was hit and killed walking across a dangerous stroad. And unlike in so many other places, the city actually responded.
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Isaac Gonzalez couldn’t have foreseen a decade ago that he’d be one of the leading advocates for safer streets in his home city. “But once you notice it, you can’t un-notice it. And if you realize you can do something, you have to.”
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Michael Schneider, founder of Streets for All and the campaign manager for Healthy Streets Los Angeles, joins us today on Upzoned to talk about the recent ballot proposal, Measure HLA.
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In what’s anticipated to be a landslide, the people of Los Angeles just voted in favor of walking, biking, and transit.
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Sacramento City Council has unanimously approved a set of changes that will allow the California capital to meet its housing demands.
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A mother tragically lost her life after being struck by a car—yet local media is fixated on the fact that she was riding an e-bike. What about the dangerous conditions of the street she was killed on?
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Jennifer Gaughran runs the Strong Towns Toastmasters group, where folks interested in cities and public speaking gather to refine their speaking skills, while talking about urban issues and Strong Towns concepts.
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Parklets have become a popular option for outdoor dining. But are they taking away “valuable” parking lot space? Let’s do the math to find out which is more profitable: parking or parklets.
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