Economics

Midweek Video: The Global Coffee Crisis Is Coming

https://youtu.be/6IN4ZcZAUbA Global climate change is brewing a crisis for growing coffee. As annual temperatures rise, coffee plants are being threatened with mass withering. The global...

Sunday Video: How China’s Flagship Belt and Road Project Stalled Out

https://youtu.be/AU1OvrbawE8 China has been heavily focused on global infrastructure initiatives through its Belt and Road strategy to increase the country’s prosperity and influence. A key...
Youth climate activists organized the first Fridays for the Future rally on March 22, 2019. District 4 City Council candidate Shaun Scott attended and gave a brief talk encouraging activists. (Photo by author)

It’s Well Past Time We Ditch Fossil Fuels

Yesterday, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced executive action ending the use of fracked gas infrastructure in City buildings. It represents a small step toward decoupling...
Patrons eat in a new parklet patio at Gracia in Ballard. (Photo by Doug Trumm)

Seattle Considers Thinking About One Day Accepting Permits to Maybe Open Streets to Dining

Seattle will permit restaurants and retail shops to open into traffic-less public streets one block at a time. Two months after the idea was...

Midweek Video: Can Miami Replace Silicon Valley?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaddIuKgYys Miami has over 300 highrises and a climate that many desire. The city's mayor is hoping to lure tech business and jobs from Silicon...

Now Is the Time to Re-Read Jane Jacobs Backwards

My copy of Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities is dog eared and marked up. There are little arrows on...

Downtown Seattle Declares Itself Resurgent at Annual Gala

The theme was resurgence at the Downtown Seattle Association's annual State of Downtown event yesterday. With two years of pandemic suffering and emergency public...

Sunday Video: Why We’re Seeing Mass Layoffs in the US But Not the UK

https://youtu.be/HaraFkhonFo Vox explains why the United States is seeing employment plummet amidst the pandemic while the United Kingdom has not experienced the same level of...