A few years ago, Seattle ran an interesting experiment on radically densifying low rise neighborhoods with microhousing--a typology of small, minimal units that provide somewhat affordable rents as an alternative to expensive apartments or shared housing. They came in...
Rezones are on the horizon for many areas in Seattle as part of Mayor Ed Murray's Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda. Giving an early sneak peek this week, the Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) released five draft...
In 1977, in the midst of the worst nationwide recession since World War II, the National Trust for Historic Preservation founded the Main Street Project, a three-year program to address dying downtown corridors across America, and develop a comprehensive...
We've been arguing for taller development outside of Downtown for a while; unfortunately, the City has added no high-rise zones in preliminary Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) maps released so far, except in the earlier draft University District rezone map. It's...
A three-year process to adopt subarea plans around two future light rail stations in Shoreline has come to an end. On Monday, the Shoreline City Council met to decide the fate of blocks surrounding the future 145th Street Station,...
The Seattle City Council's Human Services and Public Health Committee held a special meeting yesterday (video) to consider legislation to make treatment of the homeless more humane by further regulating "sweeps" of encampments on public property. The City Council...
On Tuesday afternoon The Seattle Times' Danny Westneat broke the news (in an inflammatory manner) that Mayor Ed Murray's committee on housing may recommend making changes to the city's single-family zoning. If the idea lands on the committee's final set of...
For many urbanists, it's been a journey of elation to despair. Just two weeks after the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) proposals were announced, several of its core recommendations have already been abandoned. Facing a growing backlash, Mayor...
