Economics

Sunday Video: The Hidden Traffic Metric That Makes Cities Worse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEE4bSWBHdQ Dave Amos of City Beautiful explains what level-of-service is and the pitfalls of using it mitigate transportation impacts from new development. He also talks...
A sign says 4,128 square feet of retail are available.

Seattle to Boost Downtown with Additional Street-Level Uses

On Monday, the Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to energize Downtown Seattle and South Lake Union (SLU) with new street-level uses. This...

Why Seattle Needs Inclusionary Zoning, Explained By The Bid-Rent Curve

“Barriers to spatial mobility are barriers to social mobility.” - American Apartheid Every morning Sandy McKay gets in her Volvo hatchback and joins the flow...
Mayor Durkan with Ferris wheel and Seattle waterfront in background

Mayor Durkan’s Budget Raids JumpStart Payroll Tax for $100 Million Pledge to Communities of...

Mayor Jenny Durkan launched her next skirmish with Seattle City Council today as she released a 2021 budget that skimmed revenue from the their...
a report cover for a south king county guaranteed basic income pilot evaluation and policy analysis

South King County Pilot Shows Promise of Guaranteed Basic Income

In 2020, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay initiated the King County Guaranteed Basic Income Pilot program, which was funded by community service operating grant...

Sunday Video: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Induced Demand and Road Widening

CityNerd walks through the very wonky topics of induced demand (or better described as "induced traffic") and the methods for justifying road widening projects....

Call to Action: Urge State Senators to Fund High Speed Rail Study

Last week, the Washington State House came through with $900,000 to partially fund a business case study of high-speed rail connecting Vancouver, Seattle, and...

Want to Revitalize Downtown? Here’s Eight Ways How

In the spring of 2020, downtown Seattle sat empty. A once bustling and growing core of tower cranes, thriving businesses, and active neighborhoods was...