This week in design: Finland goes all in on its first big cross laminated timber project, Vancouver is going super boxy for a new tower, and New York may end up with a modern Brutalist meets modern glass and steel.
Two Cap Hill projects: Design review has begun on the old Piecora’s and Hugo House sites in Capitol Hill.
What’s in a name: The Sound Transit Board settles on station names for East Link, some are likeable, others are, well, lame.
Garbage no more: Seattle is taking its crap seriously and completely redefining what “garbage” is with new composting rules.
Highway fights: As driving continues to plummet across the country, there’s a backlash rising against superfluous highway projects.
No muni broadband: A report out this week by the City of Seattle claims that building municipal broadband is too expensive.
Growing housing, growing rents: Since 1998, the number of apartments in Capitol Hill, First Hill, and the Central District have climbed 80% yet rents have shot up 40% in real terms.
Biking news: Tom at Seattle Bike Blog gets into the weeds of the Broadway bikeway extension on a block-by-block basis, highlights two Ballard greenways that will finally intersect, and breaks the news of a citywide Pronto expansion plan.
Long commutes: Thanks to our socially unequal society, the poor get the brunt of long commutes and pay a disproportionate amount for them.
Map of the Week: Locations of every film ever made in New York City mapped block by block.
The power of an M: 77 different versions of the letter “M” all representing a “Metro”.
The Barcelona plan: A look at how Barcelona was planned but took a completely different turn when it was actually realized.
Moving on in: Bike Portland compares metropolitan cities across the region to see just how much housing has been built near their centers since 1990.
Tough nut to crack: The Seattle Times discusses the challenges facing Seattle for affordable housing and some of the ideas out there to tackle the issue ($).
Toronto fail: The City of Toronto had an opportunity to finally be rid an unsightly and unhealthy an expressway, but instead chose a hybrid option in their development plan.
Amsterdam style: Amsterdam wants to build 18,000 homes for 45,000 residents with at least 30% being affordable; to do this, they’re constructing 10 islands.
Big money, big towers: The money that’s behind all of the luxury towers going up globally.
Tower cities: Toronto is trying to figure out how to deal with the 1,200+ ageing highrise towers that house more than 500,000 residents, many of whom are low-income, by creating a mixed income and diverse districts.
Plunging homeownership: Millennials (ages 25 to 34) in King County just aren’t getting into the whole homeownership thing with only a one-quarter owning ($)–half the rate of 1980 for the same cohort at that time.
Segregation is alive: A look at McKinney, Texas where segregation is alive and well despite efforts to eliminate it.
Pulling us apart: Emily Badger of the Washington Post says that our cars, neighborhoods, and schools are pulling us part socially.
Stephen is an urban planner with a passion for promoting sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He advocates for smart policies, regulations, and implementation programs that enhance urban environments by committing to quality design, accommodating growth, providing a diversity of housing choices, and adequately providing public services. Stephen primarily writes about land use and transportation issues.
