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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”
The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).
DARTSpace Platform Streamlines Dallas TOD Application Process
The Dallas transit agency hopes a shorter permitting timeline will boost transit-oriented development around rail stations.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
Car-Centric LA Suburb Looks to a Train-Oriented Future
City leaders in Rancho Cucamonga, the future western terminus of the Brightline West rail line to Las Vegas, want to reimagine the city as a transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly community.
New Alaska Bitcoin Mine Would Burn as Much Energy as the State’s Largest Coal Plant
Fueled by “stranded” natural gas, the startup hopes to become the largest in the US, and to make Alaska an industry center.
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.
Municipality of Princeton
Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission
City of Mt Shasta
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)