This is a fantastic conference; see especially Betty Deakin's presentation on TOD design for high speed rail in the Central Valley, which starts at about the 2/3rd point. She smartly points out that California, unlike France and Spain and especially Japan, is growing very rapidly; in addition, many of the cities in the Central Valley (and Sylmar, for that matter) have enormous amounts of empty space: empty parcels and large right-of-ways, all of which have a lot of potential, particularly in terms of dense infill development. But she also looks at the space between the buildings, including the much-too-wide streets and easements, as an opportunity, even an advantage, for urban design. This is a large part of my own design strategy, which I ought to be posting soon.