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.
Pierce County is close to allocating its growth targets to local municipalities and unincorporated areas. In total, the county is supposed to accommodate 264,785 more residents and 147,500 jobs by 2044. The growth allocations will then be used by local governments in determining how they update their comprehensive plans,...
Golf courses take up a huge amount of land and resources to support an activity enjoyed by very few people. In some big cities, golf courses are situated in places that would be better used with higher intensity uses. Recent discussions around golf courses and what to do about...
Bike Switzerland? Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes visits Swiss cities and finds that they are increasingly becoming more bike-friendly places despite the hills and car infrastructure. Americans often argue that bikes only work in flat, dry places, but Slaughter shows that's not true if your city makes strategic...
A housing czar: Does the Biden administration need a housing czar?
Delayed: Dublin's first metro line may be delayed now until 2034.
Public order problems: Many American cities face public order problems on transit.
€9 ticket: How is Germany's €9 ticket for public transit going?
Tunnel vision: Austin is planning a new set...
Dave Amos at City Beautiful talks about the history social housing in the United States and whether it's a policy solution worth pursuing again. For decades, social housing -- particularly low-income public housing -- has been discouraged as a housing policy, but it has found new life in recent...
This Transpo Notes roundup touches on a mix of transit stories, including:
ORCA now offering one trip protection;Pierce Transit's evaluation of bus rapid transit expansion alternatives; Sound Transit's maintenance program starting next week;Puget Sound transit operator July staffing levels; andCommunity Transit and Pierce Transit's free youth fare proposals.
ORCA cards now...
This Transpo Notes roundup touches on a mix of transit and trail stories, including:
Restoration of Amtrak Cascades service to Canada;Seattle's recommendations for West Seattle and Ballard Link Extensions;Kitsap Transit's July service changes; andNewly opened expansion of a Bellevue trail.
Further Amtrak Cascades service restorations are coming
On Friday, the Washington State...
Ray Delahanty on CityNerd breaks down what happens when large suburban stroads intersect and how the design of suburban intersections reflect the kind of land use and planning around them. Ray specifically looks at corresponding suburban land uses, how the design of the intersections affect operations, such as signal...