Futurewise
Futurewise works throughout Washington State to encourage healthy, equitable, and opportunity-rich communities and to protect our most valuable farmlands, forests and water resources through wise land use policies and practices. Founded to help support implementation of the first-in-the-nation Growth Management Act, we focus on directing equitable growth into our urbanized areas and preventing the conversion of wildlife habitat, open space, farmland, and working forests to subdivisions and development.
As we enter month three of life in a pandemic in Washington, planners, and community organizations are grappling with how to adapt our engagement work when in-person conversations are no longer feasible. What kinds of community engagement is possible during a pandemic? Is it possible for community engagement to...
We’re all socially distancing here in Washington but last
week we convened a group of land use leaders in Olympia for a discussion about
how to successfully bridge generational divides in urbanist organizing.
In 2018, after over a year of community engagement, Olympia passed legislation permitting “missing middle” housing types across...
Futurewise Legislative Wrap-Up: The Story Behind House Bill 2427, the GMA Climate Goal Bill
At Futurewise, we believe that local government planning needs to more directly address climate change. We need planning that helps us reduce emissions, especially from transportation, and we need planning that helps us adapt to the...
Last month we gave readers of The Urbanist a preview of Futurewise’s 2020 legislative agenda. This month we’re going to do an overview of another critical area of our work: our legal agenda. Futurewise’s staff attorney, Tim Trohihomivich, Director of Planning and Law, has been with the organization for...
The 2020 legislative session kicked off on January 13th and we’re officially down in Olympia five days a week advocating for the smart, responsible and equitable land use policies Washington needs. This month’s Wonkabout Washington will present an overview of Futurewise’s legislative priorities for the 2020 session, with a...
Wonkabout Washington is back after a brief hiatus and we’re wrapping up the year with an exceptionally wonky topic that has broad impacts for land use law and tenant rights regulations across Washington. That’s right, we’re talking this month about takings law and a hugely consequential recent ruling by...
Futurewise and Skyway Solutions Advocate for Equity in Skyway Subarea Plan
As the King County Council considers a draft of the Skyway-West Hill Land Use Subarea plan, Futurewise and Skyway Solutions are asking the council to consider a set of equity-focused improvements, with a particular focus on improving the inclusionary...
Keeping an Equity Focus for SEPA Reform in Seattle
This year’s legislative session saw the passage of a major bill, House Bill 1923 that aims to transform zoning and density in communities across Washington state. HB 1923 encourages cities to adopt new development regulations to increase density and to adopt...