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Paul Shigley's blog

California's Best And Worst Mid-Sized City Downtowns

When people think of downtowns, they often think of huge cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. But anybody familiar with California knows that the big city downtowns are the exceptions. By and large, California is a state of mid-sized cities, and some of the most delightful urban places are the smaller downtowns. Often in older cities, these districts are manageable, pleasant and, very often these days, in the midst of a strong renaissance.
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Redevelopment Proposal Still Alive As Governor Reveals 18-Month Budget

The notion of using redevelopment to help solve the state’s budget deficit continues to percolate in Sacramento. Meanwhile, analyses of the governor’s proposed 18-month budget that was released on New Year’s Eve are trickling out.
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The Top 10 Stories Of 2008

In the world of land use planning and real estate development, 2008 will go down as a memorable year, but not necessarily for positive reasons. If the housing market bubble burst in 2007, it crashed to the ground Hindenburg-style in 2008. The fallout from the housing market disaster continues to affect nearly every aspect of planning and development in California.
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Federal Infrastructure Package – A Chance To Get It Right

“Isolated transit-oriented developments in a sea of automobiles.”

That’s how Robert Cervero, one the country’s foremost authorities on transportation and transit-oriented developments, described this country’s approach when I spoke to him recently while working on a story about SB 375, AB 32 and other climate change policies for the February edition of Planning magazine. The chair of the University of California, Berkeley, Department of City and Regional Planning, Cervero says we’re getting it wrong.
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Greenhouse Gas Plan Defers To SB 375 Process

An AB 32 Scoping Plan that places a great deal of emphasis on the SB 375 process was approved on December 11 by the California Air Resources Board.

The plan tentatively calls for land use actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5 million metric tons (MMT) of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. Environmentalists and some smart growth advocates argued for a higher land use target, while building industry representatives and some local government officials said 5 MMT should be the maximum.
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Crucial Air Board Decision Anticipated Thursday

The California Air Resources Board is scheduled to decide this week on a broad plan for implementing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction law. The board’s decision could have profound implications for both growth patterns and individual development projects.  
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Lawsuit Challenges Redevelopment Tax Shift

The California Redevelopment Association has filed its threatened lawsuit over a state budget provision shifting $350 million from redevelopment agencies to schools. The CRA argues that directing tax increment revenue away from the redevelopment agencies violates the state and federal constitution and even amounts to an uncompensated taking of property.

But I have to wonder: Is anyone listening?
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Wine Center's Closure May Not Crush Napa

Copia – the $80 million wine, food and arts center that was supposed to help anchor downtown Napa’s revitalization – has closed and filed for bankruptcy.
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What Happens When Social Ills Trump Redevelopment Plans?

The vagrants were getting aggressive while they panhandled in the parking lot between Starbucks and CVS.

“Bitch!” an angry-looking man in his 40s shouted at one woman who denied his plea for spare change.

A different fellow whom I turned down remained menacingly close while I opened my car door and quickly climbed inside. “Let’s get the hell out of here,” my friend said while jumping into the passenger seat.
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Beware Drawing Conclusions About Local Ballot Measures

Gauging elections after they are over is seldom easy, especially when an election involves a citizen initiative. What does the initiative really do? Why did people vote for it? Did growth opponents win?
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