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Stephen Fesler

Staff Biography

Stephen FeslerSenior Reporter

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. var block_tdi_920 = new tdBlock(); block_tdi_920.id = "tdi_920"; block_tdi_920.atts = '{"custom_title":"Recent Articles","block_template_id":"td_block_template_8","border_color":"#000000","f_header_font_family":"471","f_header_font_weight":"400","f_header_font_style":"oblique","f_header_font_size":"32","ajax_pagination":"load_more","autors_id":"6","m11f_ex_font_family":"","block_type":"td_block_12","separator":"","custom_url":"","m11_tl":"","m11_el":"","post_ids":"","category_id":"","taxonomies":"","category_ids":"","in_all_terms":"","tag_slug":"","installed_post_types":"","include_cf_posts":"","exclude_cf_posts":"","sort":"","popular_by_date":"","linked_posts":"","favourite_only":"","limit":"5","offset":"","open_in_new_window":"","show_modified_date":"","time_ago":"","time_ago_add_txt":"ago","time_ago_txt_pos":"","review_source":"","el_class":"","td_ajax_filter_type":"","td_ajax_filter_ids":"","td_filter_default_txt":"All","td_ajax_preloading":"","f_header_font_header":"","f_header_font_title":"Block header","f_header_font_settings":"","f_header_font_line_height":"","f_header_font_transform":"","f_header_font_spacing":"","f_header_":"","f_ajax_font_title":"Ajax categories","f_ajax_font_settings":"","f_ajax_font_family":"","f_ajax_font_size":"","f_ajax_font_line_height":"","f_ajax_font_style":"","f_ajax_font_weight":"","f_ajax_font_transform":"","f_ajax_font_spacing":"","f_ajax_":"","f_more_font_title":"Load more button","f_more_font_settings":"","f_more_font_family":"","f_more_font_size":"","f_more_font_line_height":"","f_more_font_style":"","f_more_font_weight":"","f_more_font_transform":"","f_more_font_spacing":"","f_more_":"","m11f_title_font_header":"","m11f_title_font_title":"Article title","m11f_title_font_settings":"","m11f_title_font_family":"","m11f_title_font_size":"","m11f_title_font_line_height":"","m11f_title_font_style":"","m11f_title_font_weight":"","m11f_title_font_transform":"","m11f_title_font_spacing":"","m11f_title_":"","m11f_cat_font_title":"Article category tag","m11f_cat_font_settings":"","m11f_cat_font_family":"","m11f_cat_font_size":"","m11f_cat_font_line_height":"","m11f_cat_font_style":"","m11f_cat_font_weight":"","m11f_cat_font_transform":"","m11f_cat_font_spacing":"","m11f_cat_":"","m11f_meta_font_title":"Article meta info","m11f_meta_font_settings":"","m11f_meta_font_family":"","m11f_meta_font_size":"","m11f_meta_font_line_height":"","m11f_meta_font_style":"","m11f_meta_font_weight":"","m11f_meta_font_transform":"","m11f_meta_font_spacing":"","m11f_meta_":"","m11f_ex_font_title":"Article excerpt","m11f_ex_font_settings":"","m11f_ex_font_size":"","m11f_ex_font_line_height":"","m11f_ex_font_style":"","m11f_ex_font_weight":"","m11f_ex_font_transform":"","m11f_ex_font_spacing":"","m11f_ex_":"","m11f_btn_font_title":"Article read more button","m11f_btn_font_settings":"","m11f_btn_font_family":"","m11f_btn_font_size":"","m11f_btn_font_line_height":"","m11f_btn_font_style":"","m11f_btn_font_weight":"","m11f_btn_font_transform":"","m11f_btn_font_spacing":"","m11f_btn_":"","ajax_pagination_next_prev_swipe":"","ajax_pagination_infinite_stop":"","css":"","tdc_css":"","td_column_number":3,"header_color":"","color_preset":"","border_top":"","class":"tdi_920","tdc_css_class":"tdi_920","tdc_css_class_style":"tdi_920_rand_style"}'; block_tdi_920.td_column_number = "3"; block_tdi_920.block_type = "td_block_12"; block_tdi_920.post_count = "5"; block_tdi_920.found_posts = "2246"; block_tdi_920.header_color = ""; block_tdi_920.ajax_pagination_infinite_stop = ""; block_tdi_920.max_num_pages = "450"; tdBlocksArray.push(block_tdi_920);

Recent Articles

Sunday Video: What Drives Bikeshare Success and Mediocrity?                                                        Stephen Fesler -                     February 15, 2026                                                         Bikeshare growth has waxed and waned over the years. The impact of systems vary greatly today in terms of cost, coverage, equipment availability, and compatibility. Uytae Lee of About Here digs into what sets apart North American bikeshare systems.                                     Read more                            

Sunday Video: What is ‘Carbrain’?                                                        Stephen Fesler -                     January 25, 2026                                                         In this video, Ray Delahanty of CityNerd takes a dive into what "carbrain" is and how it affects how roads and highways are designed.                                     Read more                            

Sunday Video: North America Has an Elevator Problem                                                        Stephen Fesler -                     January 18, 2026                                                         In this video, Uytae Lee of About Here teamed up with Seattle-based environmental thinktank Sightline Institute to talk about North America's elevator problem. Elevators have been made rare and costly by clunky regulations, which may be ripe for serious reform to make elevators affordable and desirable to install in smaller residential buildings.                                     Read more                            

Sunday Video: Seoul Removed Highway, Restored River, and Traffic Got Better                                                        Stephen Fesler -                     January 11, 2026                                                         Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes showcases what Cheonggyecheon Expressway is like today, after being converted back to a creek and pedestrian pathway, including newer improvements in recent years.                                      Read more                            

Sunday Video: The 15 Million Home Vacancy Conspiracy Theory Debunked                                                        Stephen Fesler -                     January 4, 2026                                                         Ray Delahanty of CityNerd debunks the myth that vacant homes could single-handedly solve the housing crisis, explaining with data why America doesn't have anywhere close to 15 million homes readily available to fill the national housing shortage.                                     Read more                             Load more