It may not be the parting of the Red Sea, but the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan is miracle enough. Sponsored by the Los Angeles River Committee of the Los Angeles City Council, the revitalization master plan may be the corner-turning event that actually kicks off the process of making a depressing culvert into a riparian green belt, studded with neighborhood parks, including several in the city's poorest neighborhoods.

The right combination of zoning changes and decreased parking requirements can make infill projects feasible in some of the state's most urban settings. That is the conclusion of Solimar Research Group, which continues to investigate land use options for crowded urban areas. >>read more

It could almost be a story from a Charles Dickens novel: Nearly 800 lower-income households find themselves evicted from an apartment complex in the Venice district of Los Angeles by developers who reportedly want to build luxury housing. The City Council opposes the deal but is defeated in court. After various attempts at mediation, the developers beckon sheriff's deputies to lock out hundreds of renters from their apartments, only to call off the authorities at the last minute. >>read more

A Regional Water Quality Control Board permit that mandates how Los Angeles County and 84 cities in the county manage stormwater discharges is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act, an appellate court has ruled. >>read more

The only way to squeeze a generation's worth of growth into existing urban areas plus 2% more land is with a heavy reliance on infill development. With the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) beginning to finesse its density-driven, "2% Strategy" growth vision from policy into action, Solimar Research Group is producing information of use to those planning and executing infill development. >>read more