Zoner-in-Chief: President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan includes language about grants for local jurisdictions to end exclusionary zoning practices and parking minimums.
Proceeds: Oregon’s bike tax has sent over $11 million to off-street paths.
London by bus: Looking at London, what can bus-only lanes and camera enforcement do for buses?
Recall: The Washington Supreme Court rules that a recall campaign of Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant can proceed.
Covid WA: Beginning April 15th, all adult Washingtonians will be eligible to receive a Covid vaccine. Meanwhile, Washington is doing a good job vaccinating multigenerational households and King County could move back to Phase 2 if trends don’t improve ($).
Go by bike: Pop-up bike lanes installed in cities during the pandemic have increased biking and reduced emissions according to a European study ($). Bloomberg Green also highlights how switching from driving to biking can make a huge dent in emissions.
Wave energy: The United States is finally looking at how to unlock the potential of wave energy.
Wind energy: The Biden administration wants to encourage offshore wind energy in New York and New Jersey ($).
Regional homelessness: Marc Dones will become the CEO of the King County Regional Homeless Authority ($). Dones also laid out priorities for the agency this week.
Quizzing geography: The New York Times has a geographic quiz of how neighborhoods voted in the 2020 presidential election ($).
Blocked by Amazon: A planned Amazon warehouse in Philadelphia has become an obstacle to the local transit agency building a new trolley facility.
Industrial tree canopy: Seattle’s industrial districts could use more tree canopy according to an op-ed in Crosscut.
Back on track: The Washington State Convention Center expansion seems to be back on track with private funding coming through to bridge a financial gap.
Missing Link continues: A state court says that a new hearing is needed for the Missing Link project in Ballard.
No new roads: Austin wants Texas to reconsider expansion of I-35.
Brownfield to park: Denver turns a waterfront brownfield into a park.
Affordable means affordable: New affordable housing in New York City must come with free broadband access.
Rent trends unequal: Renters for wealthier households are coming down, but not so for lower-income households ($).
Red state politics: Ohio looks to restore transit funding, but will it stick?
ST fare reform: Fare reform legislation for Sound Transit moves forward in the state legislature.
Progressive priorities: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently spoke to House members about his priorities.
We are one: Snohomish County officials want assurances that Link light rail expansion projects will remain on-time in the county even though all subareas face funding shortfalls and higher costs ($).
NY road pricing: The United States Department of Transportation is helping move New York’s decongestion charge planning process forward.
Win at SCOTUS: The Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear a case on pedestrians lingering on medians in a win for advocates.
ADU boom: Accessory dwelling units have become a gradually increasing share of California housing production since statewide liberalization laws were enacted.
Moratorium extended: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended the national eviction moratorium through June.
VMT sagas: A vehicle miles traveled tax looks to be dead at the federal level, but Streetsblog asks if we should implement it.
20% reduction: The Scottish government has developed a plan to reduce car use by 20% in the next 10 years.
Dallas subway: Dallas has okayed a subway connector project.
Swedish green living: The Guardian takes a look at Malmö’s approach to building green districts.
Amazon’s Bellevue digs: Amazon’s new towers in Bellevue will have features similar to the Seattle campus such as bike stalls, daycare, and an arts center ($).
Cleveland townhouses: Architects in Cleveland are concerned about the proliferation of townhouses that are poorly design in relation the public realm and are hoping for changes.
Lowrise blaze: A small apartment building slated for redevelopment in Capitol Hill went up in flames.
Sold: The old Bon Marché building in Downtown Seattle — most recently anchored by Macy’s — has sold for $600 million ($).
Tax business: What profitable big businesses are avoiding paying federal taxes ($)?
Tension: Parking enforcement of the 72-hour rule returns to Seattle but there is tension over it.
Investing in Detroit: Billionaire Dan Gilbert plans to invest $500 million to revitalize Detroit neighborhoods.
Regional rail vision: A regional rail vision for Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. is coming together ($).
OR car-free bridge: A new car-free bridge is being planned for Oregon City-West Linn.
Free transit: Boston is piloting free transit for up to 1,000 workers in select commercial districts.
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.