Economics

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...
Downtown Seattle wall with City Hall sign on it and buildings in the background.

Seattle Must Reject Austerity in Response to Covid Recession Budget Holes

The Urbanist joined more than 40 community organizations in signing a letter urging Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle City Council to reject austerity...

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: 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.
Mayor Durkan flanked by the American flag and Washington state flag.

Durkan Vetoes $86 Million in Covid Relief Citing Fiscal Restraint

After Mayor Jenny Durkan vetoed a Covid relief package saying it depleted the City's rainy day fund, Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda fired back that...
An high-speed train pulls into a station and passengers approach. (Photo courtesy Midwest High Speed Rail Association)

High-Speed Rail Benefits Small Towns and Large Cities

There are many ways a high-speed rail system can benefit the urban hubs of a megaregion, but small towns along the alignment can also...
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...
Wind turbines with one half-constructed turbine in the foreground.

Renewable Energy Can Power America’s Grid and Its Economic Recovery

It's been a few months since the initial outbreak of Covid-19, and pandemic has already altered our societal fabric in profound ways. Fewer people...