Land Use

Snohomish County suburban sprawl. A view of 192 Place SE located within the unincorporated Bothell urban growth area. This is one of many private streets in this development, a mechanism that allows for the construction and upkeep of the road to be placed on homeowners associations instead of a municipality. (Photo by Ray Dubicki)

A Clearview of the Urban Growth Boundary

Snohomish County is weighing a 15-square mile expansion of its urban growth boundary in an area called the Clearview Cluster. Even now, suburban sprawl...
A construction project on Stone Way. (Photo by Doug Trumm)

The Mayor’s Middle-Income Housing Recommendations Skirt the Edges of the Change We Need

"Missing middle" housing types weren't a focus of a recent report on middle-income housing.  On January 22, 2020, Mayor Jenny Durkan took receipt of the...
A perspective of Merwede district of Utrecht, Netherlands, (Credit: marco.broekman and OKRA)

A Triplex Bill Is Fine, But We Need Housing Action on a Truly Massive...

We need homes. A lot of homes. Not just affordable housing, but also middle-income ones, and even luxury homes. I agree with virtually every...
A triplex in Magnolia. (Photo by Doug Trumm)

How to Finetune Rep. Macri’s Single-Family Rezone Bill

Land use wonks and laypeople alike are rejoicing over the recent spate of proposals coming out of the state legislature related to increasing the...
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...

Midweek Video: Why Are There So Few City-States?

https://youtu.be/qkdUz1zoZUY Dave Amos of City Beautiful takes on the topic of city-states. He explores why they were more common in the past, how they thrive...
Seattle Planning Commissions's Growth Strategy White Paper dropped on January 7th, 2020.

Seattle Planning Commission Urges City to Get Ambitious with Growth Strategy

Yesterday, the Seattle Planning Commission released a Growth Strategy White Paper calling for dramatic changes to Seattle's zoning. The white paper builds upon the...

Sound Transit Seeking Bids for Large TOD Site in Bellevue’s Spring District

A new transit-oriented development (TOD) in Bellevue could happen on surplus property owned by Sound Transit. The transit agency is actively seeking private bids...