In recent years, cities across California have faced
unprecedented challenges — wildfires, flooding, mass shootings,
hazardous spills, and more. But the benefits of a good crisis
communication plan go beyond emergencies.
“As mayor, you can call on certain voices to lower the
temperature on a particular issue,” says Asm. Diane Papan.
“Everyone gets an opportunity to speak, but it’s about what order
you have them speak. The order of things can affect the outcome
of a decision.”
“Displacement can happen across any income group,” says planner
Karen Chapple, “and it can happen with benefits or with losses.
The policy issue is, is the diversity of the neighborhood that
you had before as sustained as the new transit improvement comes
in?”
City officials in Davis and Emeryville found a way to make their
communities happier, safer, and cleaner while also reducing
carbon emissions: They made it easier to bike. “The point is to
provide options,” said Jennifer Donofrio, Davis’ senior
transportation planner. “People can choose to get around however
they prefer.”
According to State Librarian Greg Lucas, no other
government-paid-for entity is as nimble or flexible as libraries.
That makes them pillars of their community and well-positioned to
tackle some of our biggest challenges — if they have the
funding.
Elk Grove, Burbank, and San Pablo were some of the winners of the
2025 Outstanding Local Streets and Roads Project Awards. Elk
Grove dramatically improved its streets thanks to a systemic,
fix-it-first maintenance approach. Burbank and San Pablo both
overhauled major traffic corridors.
South Lake Tahoe’s housing stock is controlled by regional growth
limits. That stock became even more limited in
2020, as white-collar workers freed from downtown
office commutes in pricier regions moved to the area.
Home prices and rent soared by double digits, displacing many
longtime residents and seasonal workers.
Even with the nation’s most effective gun laws, Californians
experienced a mass shooting every six days in 2023. “It is a sad
state of affairs for our country and our community that we’ve had
so many mass shootings that a set of best practices have
emerged,” said one expert.
Generative artificial intelligence can both enhance city services
and cause great harm. This is where policies matter. You need to
know exactly what data your AI tool uses and carefully review
AI-generated content before publishing it.
If you’re a politician, you most likely talk a lot. If you’re a
good politician, you almost certainly listen a lot. But are
you talking and listening well? Probably not, argues public
radio host Celeste Headlee. And that has profound implications
for our democracy.
California’s new water standards become effective Jan. 1, 2025.
The new rule shifts away from a one-size-fits-all approach to
community-specific conservation management and will affect almost
every city — including the 199 classified as urban water
suppliers.
Experts are warning that artificial intelligence (AI) could
undermine this year’s elections. But just what does that mean?
Here’s what AI can do, the threats it poses to election security,
and how local officials can help their communities prepare.
At 27, Rigel Robinson’s political future was bright. His election
to the Berkeley city council had broken barriers and his campaign
for mayor won the endorsement of California Attorney General
Rob Bonta. But earlier this year, he resigned, citing burnout and
a long-running harassment campaign.
Toxic waste from the Tijuana River has created a public health,
economic, and environmental nightmare for cities in San Diego
County. The ongoing crisis is a classic example of a local issue
that requires a bipartisan regional, state, and federal response.
Retail in California has struggled in recent years, especially
businesses with smaller footprints. For some cities, this is just
another potentially disastrous change they’ve turned into an
opportunity. Here are some of the steps three cities have taken
to support and grow their retail sector.
California’s housing crisis stretches from one end of the state
to the other. For many small cities, the odds often feel
insurmountable. Huron — located in the state’s agricultural
heartland — shows that progress is possible. Cities just can’t do
it by themselves.
Effective governance doesn’t happen by chance. There is a cadence
to a successful meeting, with a long chain of steps that start
well before the meeting starts. Here are some best practices for
smoother, more effective council meetings that staff and elected
officials alike can use.
More cities are using civilian oversight organizations to reform
and oversee their police departments. But what these
organizations can do varies from city to city. Western
City sat down with city attorneys from Oakland and
Sacramento to discuss their cities’ approaches to civilian
oversight.
The combined cost of funding public safety agencies can occupy
over half of a city’s budget. Yet many fire departments’
emergency response systems are underutilized. As cities struggle
to meet greater social needs, the fire service can lean into some
of its strengths and fill some of those gaps.
More city officials are looking to drones for code enforcement
and public safety. However, these uses are not without
controversy. Critics have expressed concerns about privacy
implications and a lack of adequate safeguards. Cities also need
to consider legal and operational requirements.
