There’s a catch: Eliminating the homeowner mortgage could actually lead to a 10% reduction in housing costs.
Climatic threat: David Roberts of Vox explains why the Trump administration’s decision to leave the Paris Accord was entirely irrational. Laura Bliss CityLab captures tweets across the globe documenting the demise of the planet by Trump’s decision. And I resurrected an article on the impending mass inundation of the Puget Sound from climate change along with a reflection on the peril that and existential threat that Trump poses to America.
Carson State of Mind: Emily Badger demolishes HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s boneheaded philosophy that poverty is just a “state of mind.”
Punitive cabal: The Rental Housing Association of Washington, a landlord-centric lobbyist organization, is suing Seattle over its blunted move-in fee cap law.
Institutional joblessness: Despite the jobless rate falling to pre-recession levels, Black Americans are still only at the worst jobless rate that Caucasian Americans felt at the recession’s peak.
Nationalize railways: The British Labour Party is proposing re-nationalization of the country’s railway network.
Wearing black is A-ok: Streetblog highlighted how The Seattle Times printed a piece blaming pedestrians for getting hit at night for being pedestrians (wearing black isn’t an invitation to maim and kill people on foot).
Wrongful deportation: One undocumented man is being deported after suspicion of fare evasion on a Minneapolis transit system, an incredibly disproportionate punishment (the transit officer has accordingly been fired).
Black sludge: The Dakota Access Pipeline has started the flow of future CO2 emissions through its pipelines.
Houston DIY urbanism: In Houston, urban designers and safe streets advocates are taking things into their own hands with do-it-yourself interventions to street design.
Island politics: Mercer Island is getting $10 million as part of a last-minute settlement from Sound Transit over closure of the I-90 express lanes set to become light rail tracks.
Banking on transit: Yonah Freemark asks if Atlanta’s $2.5 billion investment in transit will be worth it.
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.