Civics and Culture

The Seattle City Council is set to vote Tuesday to formally re-authorize use of "less lethal" crowd control weapons, like the blast balls that seriously injured folks like me in the summer of 2020. It sends exactly the wrong message around police accountability and reform.

High-speed rail as in investment in Cascadia remains a popular policy idea, but Reece Martin of RMTransit makes the case for prioritizing higher-speed rail upgrades to Amtrak Cascades.

The Urbanist unveils top advocacy priorities for 2025 and offers some ways to get involved.

Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes compares Utrecht, Netherlands and London, Ontario, showing how both cities became car-oriented in the mid-century era. However, Utrecht uniquely undid the damage, becoming a city highly oriented around pedestrian, bike, and transit infrastructure.

Transit advocates are gearing up to pass House Bill 2191, which would allow Public Transit Benefit Authority boards across the state to create voting seats for transit riders. The bill came up just short last session.

Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority (SCIDpda) is seeking to anchor communities of color in place in and around the CID, with Beacon Pacific Village its latest housing project.

Nathan Vass shares his remembrances of fellow driver Shawn Yim, who was murdered during a late-night shift earlier this month. He also urges leaders to prevent future tragedies with robust interventions.

All too often, public hearings increase costs and consume time without meaningfully impacting decisions. Uytae Lee of About Here digs into the history of the public hearing and its utility, and whether another paradigm is worth pursuing.