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.
China's Global Power Play
China's Belt and Road Initiative, a massive program to develop infrastructure in dozens of countries worldwide, may be the largest construction project in history. Its benefits to host countries—and to China itself—remain far from certain.
Torrent of Pro-Housing Policies Could Overwhelm California's Planners
Ben Metcalf recently stepped down as director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. His tenure coincided with adoption of aggressive new statewide policies. But are they too much of a good thing?
Density Demands Good Design
California's Senate Bill 50, to increase housing near transit hubs and job centers, failed amid fears of density. If the next version is to succeed, architects and urban designers must ensure that critics' fears are not realized.
Proposed Tower In San Jose Distracts From Good Urbanism
A group has proposed a monumental tower to advertise San Jose and Silicon Valley to the world. The city would be better off focusing on its streetscape rather than its skyline.
Gentrification Studies Must Inspire Solutions
The study of gentrification took center stage at the recent conference of the Urban Affairs Association. It's up to planners to put all of that research to good use.