Editor & Publisher WILLIAM FULTON, AICP, founded California Planning & Development Report in 1986. A former newspaper reporter, Bill has worn many hats: principal in the consulting firm now known as Placeworks, Mayor of Ventura, Planning Director of the City of San Diego, Vice President for Policy at Smart Growth America, Director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, and most recently Visiting Policy Designer at the UC San Diego Design Lab.
Bill is the author of eight books, including three considered classics in their field. The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles, an L.A. Times best-seller, uses novelistic storytelling techniques to trace the way a leading metropolis grew and developed. The Regional City: Planning for the End of Sprawl, co-authored with architect Peter Calthorpe, is a pathbreaking work that has reshaped understanding of how metropolitan regions should be planned and designed. Three decades after its original publication, Guide to California Planning remains the standard textbook for urban planning classes. His most recent book is Place and Prosperity: How Cities Help Us To Connect And Innovate.
Bill was a member of the Ventura City Council from 2003 to 2011, serving as Mayor from 2009 to 2011. In that capacity he led Ventura’s innovative effort to promote sensitive infill development. He was active in the incorporation of the City of West Hollywood in 1984 and was one of the first appointees to the West Hollywood Planning Commission upon its creation in 1986.
Bill holds a master’s degree in journalism/public affairs from The American University in Washington, D.C., and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.
