The Urbanist » Examining urban policy to improve cities and quality of life.

20 Questions (Actually, 33) With Nathan Vass

by Nathan Vass on June 24, 2017

This interview very much falls under the “everything-you-always-wanted-to-but-were-afraid-to-ask” category. William Pennington interviews various local luminaries here in Seattle, and he’s not afraid to go in depth. We really talk about everything here, and if you’ve ever wondered why bus tires aren’t solid, what drivers do when kids keep ringing the bell, and what bus driving has to do with the myth of Sisyphus, this is your ticket! Click the link below for more, and enjoy!

Thirty-Three Questions With Nathan Vass, Artist, Photographer, Filmmaker…And Metro Bus Driver

Photograph by Susan Newbold.

Elections & Endorsements/Housing/Transportation

Ten Takeaways From The Growing Seattle Forum

by Doug Trumm @dmtrumm on June 23, 2017

The Urbanist was part of a coalition of organizations that hosted a candidate forum Thursday evening focused on transportation and land use. The six leading mayoral candidates participated as did six of the most prominent contenders to replace retiring Councilmember Tim Burgess, in at-large District 8. The mayoral video is posted below for those interested in watching, while the city council video is partway through this article.

The forum offered an excellent glimpse at how candidates think about mobility and housing. Here are some things that stood out.

Candidates say they want to expand housing options in single family zones.

2017 August Primary/Elections & Endorsements/Politics & Government/Seattle City Council

2017 Endorsement Questionnaire: Teresa Mosqueda

by Elections Board @urbanistorg on June 23, 2017

As part of our endorsement process at The Urbanist, we ask candidates to complete a standard questionnaire to better understand and evaluate their positions on housing, land use, transportation, and other important issues. We then share this information with our readers to help inform their own voting decisions.

This year we are considering 19 candidates running for Seattle City Council positions 8 and 9, Seattle Mayor, and Port of Seattle Commission positions 1 and 4. We are publishing the questionnaires in full this week and next week, concluding with our official primary election endorsements in mid-July.

The following questionnaire was submitted by Teresa Mosqueda, running for Seattle City Council Position 8.

Events/WSCC

Registration Open: Community Package Tours

by Scott Bonjukian @NWUrbanist on June 23, 2017

The Urbanist’s tour series takes you to the hidden nooks and splendid neighborhoods across Seattle and the greater Puget Sound region. Join us with local experts to explore and learn about our built and natural environments.

For July we are partnering with the Community Package Coalition. They are a broad alliance of neighborhood organizations and nonprofit advocates seeking key public benefits from the Convention Center expansion, the largest real estate project in Seattle’s history. On this tour, the Coalition will lead us through most of the project locations, including First Hill’s Terry Avenue Promenade, Freeway Park, Pike-Pine protected bike lanes, and the Lid I-5 study area. They’ll also discuss affordable housing opportunities and the project’s proposed on-site benefits.

We’ll also be joined by UNITE HERE, the labor union representing hospitality workers, to discuss how the Convention Center affects the lives of local employees and residents.

We are offering two tour dates and times; the Saturday morning tour is the full experience, and the Friday night tour is a shorter option that will visit fewer project sites. Click one of the links below to register today!

When registering through Eventbrite, please consider a donation of $10 or more per person to support our nonprofit volunteer work. All of The Urbanist’s events and educational programs are free and open to the general public, and we appreciate your support!

Friday Night Tour
When: Friday, July 7, 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Where: Freeway Park, 700 Seneca Street, Seattle
Meeting directions: Meet inside Freeway Park, near the corner of 6th Avenue and Seneca Street, by the large waterfall fountain.
Walking distance: 0.8 miles
Click here to register for the Friday night tour

Saturday Morning Tour
When: Saturday, July 8, 10am to 11.30am
Where: Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave, Seattle
Meeting directions: Meet outside Frye Art Museum at the Corner of Cherry Street and Terry Avenue.
Walking distance: 1.3 miles
Click here to register for the Saturday morning tour

If you have any questions email scott@theurbanist.org. Happy walking!

2017 August Primary/Elections & Endorsements/Politics & Government/Seattle City Council

2017 Endorsement Questionnaire: Mac McGregor

by Elections Board @urbanistorg on June 23, 2017

The following questionnaire was submitted by Mac McGregor, running for Seattle City Council Position 8.

Events

Event: Housing NOW #YIOBY House Party On Friday

by Laura Loe @yimbySEA on June 22, 2017

Editor’s note: We at The Urbanist wanted to let you know about a chance to support two housing advocates we’ve partnered with many times while pushing for good housing policy. Organizing folks to engage in the public process and push for affordable housing is tough and often thankless work, but it’s essential to our success. We want to thank Alex and Laura for their organizing work and encourage people to support them and attend their house party.

Two local housing activists, Alex Broner and Laura Loe (Bernstein), are hosting a house party to celebrate their work from 5.30pm to 8pm on Friday (June 23rd) at Loe’s home in the U District.

Throughout the last three years, Broner has been working to identify and promote innovative, publicly funded housing choices. In January 2016, Loe quit grad school to organize full-time, to educate people about the connections between land use, zoning and how to make our city more welcoming, and to tweet as @yimbysea.

Attendees will hear from local developer and activist, David Neiman, who will present a fascinating history of Seattle’s land use code, and from Councilmember Kshama Sawant about why we need publicly financed housing now. Additional speakers will include Myra Lara, local queer, Latinx artist, and Kate Brunette, Housing Now volunteer and current campaign manager for Jon Grant for City Council.

2017 August Primary/Elections & Endorsements/Politics & Government/Seattle City Council

2017 Endorsement Questionnaire: Jon Grant

by Elections Board @urbanistorg on June 22, 2017

The following questionnaire was submitted by Jon Grant, running for Seattle City Council Position 8.

Events/Housing/Politics & Government/Transportation

Where To Watch Growing Seattle Candidate Forum Tonight

by Doug Trumm @dmtrumm on June 22, 2017

The Urbanist is a proud cosponsor of a candidate forum tonight called Growing Seattle. The forum’s theme is transportation and housing policy and will include the major contenders in two races: Seattle Mayor and City Council Position 8, an open at-large seat. Both of these races are wide open and each offer a huge opportunity to install an urbanist who’s a stalwart multimodal advocate at the top of City government.

Tickets to attend the event at Impact Hub are sold out, but it will be streamed live online and the lead sponsor, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is facilitating watch parties across the city (see below). Moreover, Twitter users can use the hashtag #GrowingSeattle to follow online and share reactions including from yours truly @UrbanistOrg.

The mayor forum goes first from 5.30pm to 6.45pm, and Position 8 goes second from 7pm to 8.15pm. Local journalist Erica C. Barnett, who publishes The C Is For Crank, will be moderating the event. Here are the confirmed participants in the forum: