Professor Horst Rittel of UC Berkeley’s School of Architecture coined the term “wicked problems” to describe planning challenges in constant flux with many moving parts and stakeholders. He taught that effective problem-solving requires defining the […]

Long before Santa Monica became a global destination, it was a humble seaside town defined by salt air, sunshine, and a sense of belonging. Families gathered on the sand, cyclists rolled down Ocean Avenue, and […]

In a move that stunned many civic leaders, the Santa Monica City Council voted this fall to suspend and overhaul the Neighborhood Organization Grant Program, cutting off funds that for years had helped the city’s seven […]

The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium stands as more than a shuttered venue awaiting revival—it remains an active force in global performance architecture and cultural memory, its influence reverberating through concert halls from London to Tokyo […]

What were they thinking? On Wednesday morning at 12:30 am on October 15th, we were blindsided when the Council voted four (Jesse, Caroline, Dan, Natalya) to three (Lana, Barry, Ellis) not to extend RPG’s exclusive […]

The process of restoring the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is definitely moving forward. As you can imagine, there are a complex series of steps to complete a multi-million dollar project of this scale. RPG (Revitalization […]

Santa Monica operates under a council–manager system where an elected council establishes policies but delegates day-to-day operations to a professional city manager. While meant to ensure stability, this setup has resulted in staff-driven outcomes, weak […]