Grocery boom: Spending on groceries has shot up a lot during the pandemic in the Seattle area ($).
Toronto’s Quayside: With Google’s Sidewalk Labs out, Toronto is pursuing new suitors for a smart city redevelopment of Quayside.
Public broadband: Washington could be headed for public broadband, but will it happen?
Slower streets: Virginia could allow for lower speed streets.
CT zoning reform: A package of statewide zoning reforms may become reality in Connecticut.
Accelerating parking reform: How can cities accelerate parking reform?
Baby boom bust: The pandemic baby boom has so far been a baby bust ($).
Landmarking: A Capitol Hill building has been nominated for landmarking and has an intersection with racism.
Blocking pipes: Crosscut covers how indigenous peoples are fighting British Columbia’s pipelines.
Chef salad: What are the right ingredients for making a complete community?
Reopening schools: Reopening Washington schools is heavily dependent upon federal funding.
Anti-poverty tools: Sightline explains how permanent child payments would be a huge anti-poverty tool. Meanwhile, the American Rescue Plan Act could greatly strengthen the safety next and fight poverty.
HSR Act: A Congressional bill would provide $205 billion for high-speed rail.
Very long road: Even with broad use of more effective command and control regulation, it’s basically going to take forever for electric cars to fully replace internal combustion cars ($).
Europe bikes: Europe is doubling down on bicycling as part of pandemic recovery.
No monorail: Streetsblog LA argues for ditching of the Sepulveda Pass monorail.
Oil wells: Kern County in the Central Valley of California considers permits for thousands of new oil wells.
TOD: To fill revenue gaps, many transit agencies are looking toward land development.
Philly pedestrianizing: Philadelphia’s iconic Ben Franklin Parkway is poised to be remade as a pedestrianized street.
Grants for ST: A bill sponsored by Washington’s senior Senator Patty Murray could give $1.9 billion more in grants to Sound Transit ($).
Extended moratorium: Washington Governor Jay Inslee has extended the statewide moratorium evictions through June 30th ($).
Beacon Ave S: Advocates want a different bike lane design for Beacon Ave S.
Primary Hobbs: Will a Washington “clean fuels” bill get blocked because of one lone Democrat in the Senate?
Flood resiliency: Zoning for coastal flood resilience has passed New York City’s planning commission. Norfolk is also planning for flood resiliency.
DC inclusionary zoning: Inclusionary zoning has been expanded in Washington, D.C.
Ending SF zoning: Will Oakland end single-family zoning?
Privatization failure: Scotland is taking back the passenger railways into public hands.
Tax the rich: A $100 billion investment in the IRS could generate in $1.4 trillion more in taxation ($).
Musky con: Will Miami fall victim to Elon Musk’s car tunnel con?
Parking wars: Seniors in Puyallup have come out against development of parking lot ($).
Virginia is for trains: Virginia keeps expanding passenger rail.
Better than never: Massachusetts will require sidewalks and bike lanes as part of state highway projects.
HEAL Act: What is Washington’s HEAL Act?
Map of the Week: The New York Times looks at partisan segregation at the neighborhood level across America ($).
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.
