From housing and tax policy to data centers and climate resilience, this week’s California planning stories spotlight decisions with lasting community impacts. Explore how agencies, cities, and researchers are responding—and what their choices could mean for affordability, infrastructure, and quality of life.
What We’re Reading | October 3–10, 2026 Read More »
Bay Area housing news: Mill Valley affordable housing, Berkeley zoning, Richmond tiny homes, and San Jose downtown parking policies reshape local communities. Read the full roundup to explore the decisions shaping the region’s future.
What We’re Reading | September 26-30, 2026 Read More »
Explore four major California policy stories: Byron Sher’s environmental legacy, Napa’s Five-Way Intersection debate, Eureka data center zoning, and San Jose self-checkout regulations shaping communities statewide.
What We’re Reading | September 19-24, 2026 Read More »
Explore four major California policy stories: Byron Sher’s environmental legacy, Napa’s Five-Way Intersection debate, Eureka data center zoning, and San Jose self-checkout regulations shaping communities statewide.
What We’re Reading | September 13-18, 2026 Read More »
By Richard Davis, AICP Candidate, September 14, 2026 Five recent Bay Area stories reveal how infrastructure decisions are shaping safety, mobility, climate resilience, and housing. BART credits its new fare gates with a sharp decline in rider crime and safety-related delays. In Palo Alto, rising costs are pushing officials to reconsider the scope of long-planned
What We’re Reading | September 7-11, 2026 Read More »
Northern News, July through September 2026 Edition, a publication of the American Planning Association, California Chapter, Northern.
July–September 2026 Northern News Read More »
This year’s Awards Gala honors outstanding recipients whose innovation, excellence, and leadership are advancing the planning field. Come celebrate, connect, and be inspired alongside colleagues and community members who share your passion for great places.
2026 Northern Awards Gala: Tomorrow night—Don’t miss it! Read More »
Emphasizing an Adaptive Parks and Recreation System for the Future By Casey Case and Rylee Rodriguez, Gates Studio, Walnut Creek With the recent wave of development across California to address housing shortages, meet quotas under Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), and integrate necessary commercial uses for growing populations, many cities are increasingly reaching full build-out
Planning in Parallel: Lessons Learned from the San Carlos Parks Master Plan Process Read More »
Congratulations to our newest board members and associates! Stuart Poulter, AICP, Co-director of Sustainability and Resilience he/him Stuart Poulter, AICP, is the Wildfire Resilience & Environmental Program Manager at Sequoia Ecological Consulting, Inc., where he leads CEQA compliance and wildfire resilience projects across the Bay Area, Central Coast, and Sierra Foothills. With more than a
Urban design is no longer the work of a single profession. To meet today’s interconnected challenges, trained designers must share their tools, broaden participation, and empower more people to shape, advocate for, and steward the places they call home.
Why Urban Design Needs More Urban Designers Read More »
