The University of California has committed $312 million to turn Berkeley’s historic People’s Park into housing for about 1,100 students and more than 100 of the homeless people who regularly camp on the 2.8-acre site. The project has won approval from officials in Berkeley, after UC agreed to cover the city’s added costs for police and fire services, and from an Alameda County judge, who said it complies with environmental laws.
2022December
"Lessons from Vienna: a housing success story 100 years in the making"
The most famous New Year concert in the world is performed in Vienna and beamed to millions across the world under the golden ceilings of the 19th-century Musikverein concert hall.
...More"US Cities Are Falling Out of Love With the Parking Lot"
They are grey, rectangular and if you lumped their population of up to 2bn together they would cover roughly the same area as Connecticut, about 5,500 sq miles. Car parking spaces have a monotonous ubiquity in US life
...More"What Happened When the Bay Area Rejected Growth"
From 1940 to 1960, the population of the nine counties surrounding the San Francisco Bay more than doubled to 3.6 million. In a 1959 report, the US Commerce Department’s Office of Area Development projected that it would double again by 1990, and yet again by 2020, when the region was expected to house 14.4 million people.
...More"The real cause of California’s homelessness crisis"
Gov. Gavin Newsom, newly inaugurated Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and legislative leaders are pledging decisive action on California’s homelessness crisis, which raises a pithy question: Why did it erupt during a period of strong economic growth?
...More"627 days, just for the permit: This data shows the staggering timeline to build homes in S.F."
When housing advocates and developers talk about how long it takes to get permits to build housing in San Francisco, they don’t speak in increments of days, weeks or months. They speak in years.
...More"A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.’s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here’s why"
It’s not much — a bed with a mattress, a small nightstand, a dresser, a closet and some assorted appliances in a 160-square-foot room.
...More"Buses Shouldn’t Be Free"
The push for fareless transit is downstream of a larger failure: American urban elected officials have struggled to improve government services, especially infrastructure development.
...More"Understanding Tokyo’s Land Use: The Power of Microspaces"
Tokyo’s low crime rates, world-leading transportation network, and affordable rents make it one of the world’s most livable cities.
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