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.
Beloved Businesses Should Not Struggle Silently
The demise of local businesses reached a crisis point long ago. To survive, they must resort to desperate measures—by actually asking for help. If they don't, the urban fabric will suffer.
Who Are The YIMBYs?
"Golden Gates: The Fight for for Housing in America," a new book by New York Times reporter Conor Dougherty, chronicles the early days of the YIMBY movement in the Bay Area.
2010s Were Best Of Times, Worst Of Times in California
California started the decade with a recession and hangover from rampant development in the 2000s. What ensued was an economic boom like none other. Meanwhile, its cities developed only incrementally, spiraling into a catastrophic housing shortage.
San Francisco Gets Lavish Urban Amenity—For Free
The new, privately financed Chase Center arena was designed with San Francisco's tech wealth in mind. It's a handsome addition to the Mission Bay neighborhood but pulls the Bay Area further away from its blue collar roots.
Retail Apocalypse Blazes New Trails
The demise of a beloved outdoors gear chain in Southern California suggests that no store is safe in America's high-priced cities.