Josh Stephens is the former editor of, and current contributing editor to, the California Planning & Development Report, the state's leading publication covering urban planning. Josh formerly edited The Planning Report and the Metro Investment Report, monthly publications covering, respectively, land use and infrastructure in Southern California.
As a freelance writer, Josh has contributed to Next American City, InTransition magazine, Planning Magazine, Sierra Magazine, and Volleyball Magazine. Josh also served as vice president of programs for the Westside Urban Forum, a leading civic organization on L.A.'s fashionable and dynamic Westside. Josh also served as editorial page editor of The Daily Princetonian and, briefly, the editor of You Are Here: The Journal of Creative Geography while he studied geography at the University of Arizona. He earned his BA in English from Princeton University and his master's in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Josh can often be found gazing from high vantage points wondering what it all means.
When Your Neighbor is a Big-Box Store
Taking advantage of state and local density bonuses and streamlining measures, beloved big-box retailer Costco is getting into the housing business
The Era Of Autonomous Vehicles Has Arrived
Autonomous vehicles are no longer perpetually “five years away.” They are here now. Planners must act now to ensure they don't degrade city life.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Safe Streets Ballot Measure Runs Into Unexpected Opposition
Los Angeles's Measure HLA would compel the city to make serious upgrades for walking, biking, and other forms of active transportation, all in the name of saving lives. Its biggest opponent: the firefighters union.
TOD Opportunities Around America's First True High-Speed Rail Line
Brightline West hopes to break ground, in anticipation of a 2027 opening. Cities in the Inland Empire and High Desert areas of Southern California are looking to take advantage.