Economics

Two streetcars pass on Jackson Street with the downtown skyline in the background.

Streetcar Project Could Kickstart Downtown Recovery

The Downtown Seattle Association and new SDOT head are seeking ways to jumpstart the shelved Center City Streetcar project, such as a Cultural Connector...
A map of Washington State with a map of the country of Switzerland overlaid on top of it.

Workers Need Homes, So Why Isn’t Our Zoning Keeping Up With Job Growth?

When Bellevue boasted they would eat Seattle’s lunch last month, I am not sure they realized the housing crisis was on the full course...

Why Urbanists Must Support Linkage Fees and Inclusionary Zoning: A Scalable Policy For Affordable...

Over the past few years a convincing narrative emerged explaining high housing costs in cities. As the narrative goes, urban housing is expensive because...

Sunday Video: What The Global Skyscraper Boom Really Means

https://youtu.be/ZfYkd6_Kdno Is there any credence to the skyscraper index in forecasting economic downturns? Bloomberg Citylab explores this debated theory.

The Crisis of Late Capitalism in Seattle

The early 1800’s were terrible times to be a British peasant. Parliament had been steadily granting landlords’ requests for enclosure since the 1500s, fencing...
The outfield bleachers at T Mobile Park with the skyline and blue skies in the background.

Good Urbanism, not Event Surges and Quick Fixes Will Spur Downtown Recovery

This month, Seattle has hosted some of its biggest events of the summer and local pundits are busy writing the first draft of history....

Linkage Fees are a supply-side solution: Or, how land owners end up paying for...

Linkage Fees, proposed fees on new development to pay for affordable housing, have a lot of critics. And the critics' arguments are probably all...
A group of about 15 campaign volunteers hold clip board and campaign signs at a mall plaza.

Voters Set to Decide on Raise The Wage Renton in February Ballot Measure

Renton voters have until February 13 to vote in a special election on the measure putting the city's minimum wage in line with Tukwila and SeaTac.