I mean no disrespect to the developers of Liberty Station when I suggest that they would have to go out of their way to screw up this elegantly organized project. >>read more

My first impression of San Pedro occurred 15 years ago during a tour organized by the Los Angeles Conservancy. A middle-aged man, who had been a sailor during World War II, became animated as we stood beside the old city jail in the municipal building. >>read more

Real estate reporters and doctors share a certain sang froid. Just as doctors are not excited by seeing undressed people all day, real estate reporters are generally inured to the charms of vacation properties. >>read more

It was a case of hopeless infatuation in 2001, when the City of Los Angeles finally landed a developer who was rich and optimistically cock-eyed enough to build that long-dreamed-of-but-never-consummated project, the convention center hotel. >>read more

One of the more startling bits of advice I have heard recently came from a financial planner on television who said: "Don't marry anyone you wouldn't want to divorce." The advice, of course, is to marry only someone who is rational and has the ability to cut a deal, if and when the time comes to part. In urban planning, this advice could be translated as: "Don't build anything you do not want to tear down." >>read more

Treasure Island has nearly every necessary feature to make it the most exciting new residential development in San Francisco. This 403-acre island between San Francisco and Berkeley has superb views of downtown San Francisco, Alcatraz and Angel islands, and the Bay Area's ridgelines. It has dozens of acres of green fields and an environmentally sensitive coastline, to make it a regional eco-attraction. >>read more

One of the most interesting phenomena of the urban-infill craze of recent years has been the conversion of industrial corridors, such as riverfronts and railroad tracks, into middle-class housing, "creative" office space and touristy retail. >>read more

A convergence of money, technology and landscape has given rise to a project that is both understated and remarkable. However, the set of forces, circumstances and personalities behind the Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco is unlikely to be matched in the Bay Area or anywhere else. >>read more

Although I know little about Scottish history, I seriously doubt that the Scotsmen of the early 1400s who invented golf ever thought about the environmental impact their delightful new pastime would bring to the as-yet-undiscovered shores of California. Intent on whacking leather balls filled with feathers, those same 15th Century Scotsmen probably did not think that their seemingly innocent diversion from herding sheep would ever be the rationale behind something as weird as the Santaluz development in North San Diego County. >>read more