A bill tying all local transportation projects to a regional "preferred growth scenario" that reduces automobile travel is quickly becoming the most important land use proposal of recent years in Sacramento.

What's the economic engine of the 21st Century? It's not exploitation of natural resources – which, according to one recent report, accounts for only 5% of our nation's wealth. It's not factory-style production – that's only another 18%. It's "intangible capital" – our education, our system of laws that creates a predictable society, ingenuity, and the ability to convert ingenuity into tangible products. These represent more than three-quarters of our nation's wealth.

On July 24, the last 7-mile stretch of the 210 Freeway opened from Rialto to San Bernardino. In a way, it was the end of an era.

San Francisco's practice of using building permit fees to fund long-range planning has been upheld by the First District Court of Appeal. The court rejected arguments that the fee plan violated Proposition 13 and the city charter. Instead, the court ruled that long-range planning is sufficiently related to the regulation of building construction to justify the spending.

During a recent visit with my family, I vowed never again to drive my car to work. Well, at least as little as possible.

They looked at me as if I was crazy. When I told them how much I enjoyed walking to work and nearby shops, they were speechless.

There are few places more exciting than the pulsing downtown of a big city. There is a vitality and diversity that is palpable. Sure, it might be kind of noisy and dirty and crowded. But there is so much going on � commerce, entertainment, education, travel, socializing � that it's easy to overlook the grime and congestion.

Sixty million Californians?

Even people who think far into the future haven't given that one much thought. Demographers are pretty accustomed to thinking that there might be 50 million Californians one day. But last week the state's demographers came out with the prediction that there would be 60 million Californians in 2050 – a little over 40 years from now.

Riverside County is moving toward adopting restrictive zoning and even acquiring private property in high fire hazard areas.

Sometimes even journalists get it right.

The Yuba County Board of Supervisors approved the 5,100-unit Yuba Highlands project on Tuesday, July 10, after nearly seven years of planning and negotiation with developer Gary Gallelli. Now it appears the action will shift to the courtroom.

There's a downturn in the real estate development market. Does that mean we'll soon see cities in California cutting development impact fees as well?

The pressure is building. Development projects that made economic sense a year or two ago – even with high impact fees – don't "pencil" now because interest rates have gone up and prices have stagnated or even dropped. In many cases, the dreams of both developers and cities are now on hold.

There's a downturn in the real estate development market. Does that mean we'll soon see cities in California cutting development impact fees as well?

When I was interviewing for a summer fellowship with Solimar Research Group, I asked the last question that a young professional fresh out of graduate school hoping to relocate to Southern California would be expected to ask. "Can I live in Ventura without a car?"

I received a reassuring "yes" for an answer; however, I didn't realize that I would be up against one of the country's most car-reliant populations apart from my hometown of Atlanta.