Civics and Culture

The Urbanist’s Corrections and Regrets of 2023

Journalistic integrity demands we review the tapes for the last year, and own up to our failings. Here are the corrections and regrets for 2023.
A rainy downtown Seattle street scene with bus 590 approaching.

America’s Pessimism Isn’t Economic, Stupid – It’s Human 

Economists are trying to figure out the dissonance between a recovering economy and America's deep pessimism. They're looking in the wrong place.

Sunday Video: Chicago’s Big Mistake In Selling Its Paid Street Parking

Chicago sold its on-street paid parking spaces for a small proportion of their value for decades. The city, however, is reeling from that fundamental...
A Columbia Center led downtown skyline looms in the background

A Guide to Transit-Oriented Running in Seattle

Great transit can open up a city for runners of all abilities. Transit is a marginal consideration, if it's one at all, for most runners....

Buc-ee’s City-Sized Fun in a Country Truck Stop

The 15-Minute City can't contain Buc-ee's, the Texas gas station powerhouse showing how clean, friendly convenience is done.

The Urbanist’s Thanksgiving Meatballs 2023

It's Thanksgiving and we have some stuff to be thankful for. Here's to the year's unexpected treats.

Op-Ed: Seattle Poised to Repeat Chicago’s School Closure Mistake

Last week Seattle Public Schools (SPS) unveiled plans to embrace sweeping austerity, making major cuts to school programs and closing an unspecified number of...

Liveable Kirkland Presents History of Exclusion Talk on December 2

Do you wonder how the Kirkland-of-today came to be? In 2017, Richard Rothstein’s riveting book, The Color of Law, documented how the continuing segregation of...