Stephen Fesler
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.
New bikeway: 5th Avenue in Belltown could get a new separated bike lane, additional green space, safer travel lanes, and better on-street parking.
Business affordability: It isn't just housing affordability that's an issue, the West Village in New York City is grappling with storefronts closing up due to skyrocketing rents.
An...
Members of the Seattle City Council will meet today for a special ad hoc meeting of their Select Committee on Transportation Funding. Council members will discuss the Transportation Levy to Move Seattle, a nine-year transportation levy. This levy is the successor to the current Bridging the Gap levy, which is set...
Council President Tim Burgess announced new legislation last week to preserve affordable multifamily housing units and give renters additional protections from the invocation of just cause evictions by landlords. Burgess submitted the two pieces of legislation to the Seattle City Council on Tuesday for further consideration by the Committee on...
Article Note: The Urbanist is publishing a series of interviews with a selection of 2015 Seattle City Council candidates. In June, we will release our endorsements.
Pamela Banks is a political newcomer, running in central Seattle's District 3. She hopes to unseat sitting Councilmember Kshama Sawant with her own progressive...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCgu8nu-9oY
Seattle's Historical Terra Cotta Architecture--Video 1 of 3 by Dazzling Places on YouTube.
A great series of videos on Seattle's beautiful terra cotta architeture. See videos 2 and 3, too.
Tacoma urbanism: Details on the latest revision to Downtown Tacoma's future 240-foot hotel and 140-foot residential towers.
The NEC is key: A discussion on how important the Northeast Corridor with 750,000 daily riders. Meanwhile, the debate over rail safety may never the same in light of the Philadelphia Amtrak derailment.
It's the...
The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) released its most recent findings on regional commuting trends for 2014. Since 1961, the region has cobbled together commute surveys to find out where residents are going, how they're getting there, and how often they decide to make trips.
The 2014 Puget Sound Travel Study...
The Seattle City Council is poised to take up legislation that would create new tenant protections and preserve affordable housing across the city. Proposed by Council President Tim Burgess, the two pieces of legislation would advance tenant rights by upping the length of time for eviction notice and establish a...