Josh Stephens, who is quickly becoming the SB 375 defender par excellence, responds to recent criticisms of California’s land use policies by Joel Kotkin in the pages of The Wall Street Journal.
Stephens, who deftly responded to Wendell Cox's declaration of war on California's planners, has his sights set on Joel Kotkin this time around. You may recall a recent "sycophantic quasi-interview" conducted with Kotkin by Allysia Finley, again in the pages of The Wall Street Journal, in which he derided the state's "progressive apparatchiks" who want "to destroy the essential reason why people move to California in order to protect their own lifestyles." Stephens challenges Kotkin's "strained logic and offensive biases" head-on.
"Kotkin disparages people like me for liking a lifestyle that he disagrees with. He thinks that more people should live where I live (i.e. near the coast) but he doesn't think that coastal areas should build more housing, and he definitely doesn't think that the state should promote that housing. Because then there'd be too much of a bad thing, even though people want that bad thing very badly if it's located in the right places.
And that's why, according to Kotkin, California shouldn't have passed SB 375 and instead should have maintained the status quo. Or something like that."
FULL STORY: Smart Growth Strategies Prompt Dumb Objections
California's Growing Housing Imbalance
Robert Steuteville looks at a recent report on the Golden State's supply and demand imbalance in the housing market. It's not what the The Wall Street Journal has led you to believe.
WSJ Hears From CA Smart Growth Bill Author
The Wall Street Journal printed a response to the Wendall Cox opinion, “California Declares War on Suburbia” by none other than the author of the bill (SB 375) that Cox holds responsible for the war, Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg.
Ballot Initiative Could Overturn California's Zoning Reforms
The "mother of all NIMBY initiatives" is seeking signatures to qualify for the statewide ballot in California.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
