Sunday Video: How Did Planners Design Soviet Cities?
https://youtu.be/JGVBv7svKLo
Regardless of how you feel about Russian communism, Soviet planners were very consistent in their approach to developing cities and building communities. Across different...
Op-Ed: Seattle Public Utilities Continues to Gouge Builders for Water System Upgrades
SPU’s practice to target developers with unsubstantiated fees to upgrade public assets for the water system continues unchecked. For the year 2023 more than 100 building permit seekers received such requirements as a condition of approval for new water service.
Are Historic Districts a New Variation to Restrictive Covenants?
If Seattle’s Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program set a citywide precedent, then a push by wealthy Wallingford homeowners to turn single-family zoned areas into...
MidTown Center Deal Emerges With 20% Africatown Stake
The fate of much disputed MidTown Center may finally be decided. Lake Union Partners closed the deal yesterday on the coveted property with a $23.25...
A woonerf on Eighth Avenue may soon be a reality
If all goes to plan, Seattle will soon have another woonerf making its way to a street near you. Vulcan lodged two related project...
Metro Everett Draft Recs Offer Window Into Building Heights, Parking Policy, And More
Everett has released draft recommendations on zoning and building height regulations and parking strategies for its city center planning process "Metro Everett." The draft...
Map(s) of The Day: Historic Seattle Zoning
The Seattle City Clerk's website keeps an expansive online repository of historic zoning maps. I seem to always find myself perusing the 1923 maps in...
The Promise and Potential Pitfalls of Google’s Smart City in Toronto
Sidewalk Labs is Google’s (ahem, Alphabet’s) secretive department focused on developing ‘smart cities.’ In 2017, the company was awarded an opportunity to reimagine the...