This semester, I've been taking a course on land use and planning law with a focus on contemporary planning practice in California. As a longtime California resident who has been constantly seeking to understand why planning outcomes are often so disappointing here, I can attest that the content covered in the course has been quite … Continue reading California is Anti-Development
Urbanism
Wonky writings about urban planning
When Social Justice is Misused
Can attempts to correct for equity in planning go too far?Tweet Of all the crucial conversations we are having as a society in 2020, perhaps none is more salient than the ongoing one about social justice in our cities. I've learned so much about this topic over the past year due to the recent stream … Continue reading When Social Justice is Misused
Reading Memo: Demand for Transportation
This is just a quick note to summarize and reflect on a recent reading I had - specifically Chapter 1 ("Desire for Movement") of J.M. Thomson's Modern Transport Economics. In this chapter, Thomson walks through several economics-inspired theories on what drives demand for transportation generally. He notes that there are several core reasons why transport … Continue reading Reading Memo: Demand for Transportation
[IN]CITY Final: Sky Gardens
The last two weeks of the [IN]CITY summer program have flown by like a whirlwind. After copious readings and precedent studies, our class finally took on the daunting task of crafting a series of redevelopment proposals for the North Berkeley BART station. My team was given the somewhat enviable assignment to go "sky-high" and shoot … Continue reading [IN]CITY Final: Sky Gardens
Social Infrastructure
I was given a particularly intriguing reading recently - an excerpt from the recent book Palaces for the People, by the sociologist Eric Klinenberg. It discusses the value of social infrastructure - an umbrella term for the "physical spaces and organizations that shape the way people interact." In other words, it's comprised of the places … Continue reading Social Infrastructure
Housing Precedent Cases
Throughout the [IN]CITY summer program, we will be working towards crafting a redevelopment proposal for a BART station in Berkeley, California. Currently, the site is mostly covered in surface parking lots, but we believe we have an opportunity to inspire the city to turn this space into a new kind of destination by leveraging TOD … Continue reading Housing Precedent Cases
Arguments For and Against Planning
The first week of the UC Berkeley [IN]CITY 2020 summer program has been a whirlwind. I've learned more about urban planning in 5 days than I have in my last 5 years of it as a hobby... and we're just getting started! If this is a taste of what graduate school and the profession is … Continue reading Arguments For and Against Planning
Statement of Purpose
This is a slightly revised version of my statement of purpose, which I used to apply to several graduate programs in urban planning. It aims to provide clarity on why I am pursuing this new career as well as defines the foundation for future writings going forward. At first glance, the disciplines of urban planning … Continue reading Statement of Purpose
Scenes in Scandinavia
Much has been said about the high quality of life enjoyed by folks in northern Europe and Scandinavian regions. As an aspiring urbanist, I had long wanted to visit - keen to learn how their built environments might contribute to their high livability scores. So last month, I took my work on the road and … Continue reading Scenes in Scandinavia
Class Warfare (in Cape Town)
I recently took my first trip to South Africa. It’s an astoundingly beautiful country, with an astoundingly sad history. After returning to San Francisco, I wanted to reflect on what I had seen through the lens of the current situation in the Bay Area. Heads up - this isn’t your average travel blog post. South … Continue reading Class Warfare (in Cape Town)
