John Seiler
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Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
L.A. homeless counts fall before World Cup, Olympics
According to the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count from July, “For the second straight year, homelessness is down across Los Angeles County, falling 4% to 72,308. Homelessness also declined in the city of Los Angeles, falling by 3.4% to 43,699.” That contrasts with a 3% increase in California in ...
Blog
After reforms, Casitas quietly are reshaping California’s cities
After reforms, Casitas quietly are reshaping California’s cities By John Seiler | August 22, 2025 Although I now live in Irvine, a highly planned community, I weekly drive to Huntington Beach. For most of the 38 years since I came to California, I lived near the power plant now called ...
Blog
Teacher shortages, layoffs hit big cities and rural areas hardest
Teacher shortages, layoffs hit big cities and rural areas hardest by John Seiler | July 31, 2025 Even $24,764 average spending per student can’t stop the shortage of teachers in California. The number comes from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2025-26, which began on July 1. For ...
Blog
California cities may now dodge bullet train destruction
In his May budget revision for fiscal year 2025-26, which began on July 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked $1 billion a year for the next 20 years from the state’s cap-and-trade system toward the rail project. Like the wounded Black Knight in the “Tis but a scratch scene” in “Monty ...
Blog
Months after election, is crime still a potent urban issue?
Months after election, is crime still a potent urban issue? Passed by 68% of voters last November 5, Proposition 36 increased penalties for certain drug offenses and for thefts under $950. On the same day, Nathan Hochman defeated Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, 65% to 35%. Gascón was a ...
Blog
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed?
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed? By John Seiler | May 16, 2025 California cities face numerous needs for mass transit at the local level. But lurking over any plans is the California High-Speed Rail project, which has soaked up funds since voters approved it ...
Blog
As EV Sales Lag, California Cities Double Down on Charging Stations
As EV Sales Lag, California Cities Double Down on Charging Stations California leads the charge to switch from petroleum-guzzling vehicles to electric cars. Cities and counties are grappling with the many problems involved in setting up charging stations in single-family homes, multi-family units and separate charging stations in shopping centers. ...
Blog
Rent controls will slow rebuilding L.A. from the wildfires
The Wall Street Journal talked to Richard Green, director of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate. Restrictions he mentioned were California Coastal Commission restraints and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). And Proposition 13, the 1978 tax-limitation measure, left property as about the only area of ...
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Six ways Trump administration will change urban policy
The following policy possibilities have been derived largely from Trump’s statements. Housing. “We’re going to open up tracks of federal land for housing construction,” the real estate magnate announced on Aug. 15 at a news conference. “We desperately need housing for people who can’t afford what’s going on now.” He ...
Blog
Anti-crime wave crashes over crime-soaked California cities
Anti-crime wave crashes over crime-soaked California cities by John Seiler | January 10, 2025 Like the tide moving in and out along its magnificent coastline, California’s crime policies oscillate between harshness and laxity, never getting it quite right. The crack epidemic and increase in violent crime of the 1980s led ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
L.A. homeless counts fall before World Cup, Olympics
According to the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count from July, “For the second straight year, homelessness is down across Los Angeles County, falling 4% to 72,308. Homelessness also declined in the city of Los Angeles, falling by 3.4% to 43,699.” That contrasts with a 3% increase in California in ...
After reforms, Casitas quietly are reshaping California’s cities
After reforms, Casitas quietly are reshaping California’s cities By John Seiler | August 22, 2025 Although I now live in Irvine, a highly planned community, I weekly drive to Huntington Beach. For most of the 38 years since I came to California, I lived near the power plant now called ...
Teacher shortages, layoffs hit big cities and rural areas hardest
Teacher shortages, layoffs hit big cities and rural areas hardest by John Seiler | July 31, 2025 Even $24,764 average spending per student can’t stop the shortage of teachers in California. The number comes from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2025-26, which began on July 1. For ...
California cities may now dodge bullet train destruction
In his May budget revision for fiscal year 2025-26, which began on July 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom earmarked $1 billion a year for the next 20 years from the state’s cap-and-trade system toward the rail project. Like the wounded Black Knight in the “Tis but a scratch scene” in “Monty ...
Months after election, is crime still a potent urban issue?
Months after election, is crime still a potent urban issue? Passed by 68% of voters last November 5, Proposition 36 increased penalties for certain drug offenses and for thefts under $950. On the same day, Nathan Hochman defeated Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, 65% to 35%. Gascón was a ...
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed?
What will California cities do if the bullet train is derailed? By John Seiler | May 16, 2025 California cities face numerous needs for mass transit at the local level. But lurking over any plans is the California High-Speed Rail project, which has soaked up funds since voters approved it ...
As EV Sales Lag, California Cities Double Down on Charging Stations
As EV Sales Lag, California Cities Double Down on Charging Stations California leads the charge to switch from petroleum-guzzling vehicles to electric cars. Cities and counties are grappling with the many problems involved in setting up charging stations in single-family homes, multi-family units and separate charging stations in shopping centers. ...
Rent controls will slow rebuilding L.A. from the wildfires
The Wall Street Journal talked to Richard Green, director of the University of Southern California’s Lusk Center for Real Estate. Restrictions he mentioned were California Coastal Commission restraints and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). And Proposition 13, the 1978 tax-limitation measure, left property as about the only area of ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Six ways Trump administration will change urban policy
The following policy possibilities have been derived largely from Trump’s statements. Housing. “We’re going to open up tracks of federal land for housing construction,” the real estate magnate announced on Aug. 15 at a news conference. “We desperately need housing for people who can’t afford what’s going on now.” He ...
Anti-crime wave crashes over crime-soaked California cities
Anti-crime wave crashes over crime-soaked California cities by John Seiler | January 10, 2025 Like the tide moving in and out along its magnificent coastline, California’s crime policies oscillate between harshness and laxity, never getting it quite right. The crack epidemic and increase in violent crime of the 1980s led ...
