What to Expect from HCD's Stramlined Update

August 1, 2013 Caroline Nowacki

In the context of reduced budgets at all levels of governments, the HCD offers a new procedure, the Streamlined Update Process, designed to save money and time for California cities.

Real Estate for High Schoolers

November 1, 2011 Geoff I. Bradley

Whitney and I underwent a full day training in the ULI UrbanPlan program, which brings experienced real estate professionals into high schools to discuss the fundamentals of real estate development.

Rebuilding Ground Zero: 10 years later

September 10, 2011 Karen Hong

Addressing such a memorial site through planning and architecture, is only a tiny fraction of the healing process after 9/11. The real rebuilding work, of society and of people’s lives, is far more difficult.

A Unique Approach to a General Plan Update

July 21, 2011 Kevin Gardiner

M-Group recently worked with the City of Foster City on a unique approach to updating its General Plan.

How SB 10 can be a Tool for Equity - and Actually Get Housing Built

Asher Kohn

Nov 15, 2023

How SB 10 can be a Tool for Equity - and Actually Get Housing Built

A 2021 law that allows jurisdictions to select parcels for multi-family housing excited housing activists throughout the state. Many cities and towns included programs to use SB 10 in their housing elements in order to provide more housing choice over the course of the 8-year planning period. Fewer of these jurisdictions, however, have had the capacity to give thought to where these “SB 10 parcels” might best result in actual homes getting built, and what effects these new homes might have on equity and opportunity.

Laylonni Laster

Oct 10, 2023

Urban Heat Islands

The most vulnerable populations to the heat island effect are those that reside within cities. Within cities, there are “intra-urban” heat islands that form due to the uneven distribution of natural landscapes in comparison to heat-absorbing structures and pavements. Studies have shown that the uneven distribution of natural land cover is related to income. As a result, low-income communities tend to have less natural land cover and face greater health risks during excessive heat events. Additionally, these communities face a reduction in air quality and the burden of higher cost air conditioning bills.

Apr 6, 2023

Palo Alto - A history of California, capitalism, and the world, Reviewed by Asher Kohn, AICP

Asher Kohn’s book review on Palo Alto - A History of California, Capitalism, and the World dives into how Silicon Valley came to be and what this growth means for the community surrounding it.

donut with pink frosting and white sprinkles

Erin Tou

Mar 12, 2021

Is a doughnut the key to healthy growth?

When scaled down to the local level, the doughnut economic model can be used as a framework to help cities gain a holistic understanding of their community and is intended for big picture thinking and transformative action (Doughnut Economic Action Lab).

Mar 2, 2021

The Future of Work and the Future of Local Land Use

In articles about the effects of Covid-19 on the future of work, it’s worth asking: whose work?

EMPLOYEE INTERVIEWS

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