Here is what is working well and not so well as Washington State's Growth Management Act celebrates 35 years. Travis Merrigan suggests some reforms to keep suburban sprawl at bay.
With a widespread housing crisis and sky-high downtown commercial vacancies, West Coast cities are weighing vacancy taxes to push more units into productive use, but Tacoma and Seattle likely need state legislation to clear the path.
A Sightline Institute study quantified the impact of growing up, not sprawling out, estimating that the Seattle metro area’s slightly less-sprawling growth since 2000 was keeping 1 million tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere every year, compared with what Seattleites would have been emitt
Sound Transit tallied a record-smashing day, exceeding 200,000 boardings on Link light rail during Seattle’s victory parade day. Lime added nearly 60,000 rides on its shared scooters and e-bikes.
Anticipation is building for the 2 Line extension March 28, crossing Lake Washington and tying the Eastside into Sound Transit’s broader light rail network. But much work remains to get the next set of expansions right, and removing Claudia Balducci as System Expansion Chair launches that work on a
With three “downtown” stations and counting, Sound Transit must overhaul its station naming policy and name its stations less confusingly so that riders can easily navigate a growing system.
A trove of documents obtained from City of Seattle through public disclosure requests shows work is proceeding gradually but steadily inside the transportation department to take advantage of Washington State’s new Shared Streets Law. Pedestrianizing a number of streets could be around the corner.
Road to Nowhere author Emily Lieb is speaking at Elliott Bay Books on November 20. Here’s a sneak peek at her book, which covers the plight of the Rosemont neighborhood of West Baltimore, as it was victimized by grand highway schemes.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has increasingly staked his reelection bid on going negative on challenger Katie Wilson. But the desperate attacks have blowback potential. Here’s why.
In a campaign event last week, Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson harkened back to her younger street-musician days when she used to busk at Pike Place Market. Wilson told a gathering of Market workers and community members that she understood their struggles; she has lived them, and Seattle’s m
While Bruce Harrell is touting a drop in the number of pedestrian deaths in Seattle last year, that number has shot up again in 2025. And despite his promotion of safety spending in a newly approved transportation levy, his legacy on the issue of traffic safety likely won’t be known for years.
Mayor Bruce Harrell has pledged to complete labor negotiations with the Seattle Police Officers Guild before the end of the year. But facing a tough reelection fight, he might not be around to sign the deal, which challenger Katie Wilson may want to renegotiate anyway.
Friday’s ballot count was very friendly to Seattle progressives, with mayoral challenger Katie Wilson exceeding the 50% mark with the boost. The election dynamics favor a progressive wave. Here’s why.
Five major bike safety projects are all opening within a few months of each other, filling in critical gaps in Seattle’s network. But most of the credit for ensuring that Hot Bike Summer happened in the first place goes to previous city leaders.
Michael Westgaard, a labor organizer with Raise the Wage Renton, is challenging incumbent Councilmember James Alberson, Jr. for Renton City Council’s Position 1 seat. Transit emerges as a central plank of his platform in this interview with The Urbanist.
Since the 2023 Seattle council elections, a new dynamic has been taking shape in which extra deference is given to policy decisions made by the seven district-based councilmembers within their own district. If that shift continues, it could have dramatic impacts on how projects and programs are prio
The arts have been key to Seattle bouncing back from the pandemic, helping to fill vacant storefronts, but finding affordable spaces to house art and the artists who make it remains a challenge. Artists are hoping a longshot bid to repurpose the abandoned El Rey Apartments could provide an anchor.
Cities in Washington will have the legal authority to create shared streets, which feature much lower speed limits and put pedestrians first, under Senate Bill 5595. Governor Bob Ferguson signed the bill into law Saturday. It will go into effect on July 27.
Expectations are high for longtime board member Dow Constantine’s new job as Sound Transit CEO. Here’s what The Urbanist’s newsroom has at top-of-mind in the months ahead.
New legislation in Olympia could help us rethink and reclaim the street as a true public easement. If passed and its provisions delivered, we can look forward to streets that are not only more welcoming of public life, but a lot less deadly to all users.
Our map of cherry blossoms hotspots covers more than 44,000 flowering stone fruit trees across Seattle. Check it out to plan your flower tour.
In Tacoma, 62% of housing units are detached single family homes. This overabundance has come at a cost in terms of affordability and urban livability. But recent zoning changes could spur a greater variety of housing.
Sound Transit alongside Community Transit and the wider ORCA card pod will make some limited fare changes on Saturday, March 1, including lowering regular adult day passes from $8.00 to $6.00 and for reduced fare day passes from $4.00 to $2.00.
Proposition 1A grabbed nearly 58% of the election night vote tally, signaling social housing is on the way to victory in Seattle. The measure would tax big businesses to raise about $53 million annually to fund social housing.
The idea of closing schools is currently off the table as Seattle Public Schools considers how to close a significant budget deficit. This year’s legislative session and school board elections will be pivotal in determining whether that conversation will resurface.
East Link light rail expansions set the stage for boosting housing and transforming streets to overcome car dependence. The next year will be a pivotal, signaling whether Eastside cities are executing an urban transformation or falling back into old exclusionary patterns, ceding regional leadership
Election Day 2024 is upon us, and the outcome will have a huge impact on the lives of residents in Seattle and Washington state. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s on the ballot and what the outcome could mean.
A pro-Woo PAC pumped $70,000 into the race Friday as a last ditch effort to swing the election. So far, Alexis Mercedes Rinck had been able to keep pace, with help from the Progressive People Power PAC.
Recently completed Bremerton street projects have fallen well short of modern safety standards. The projects fail to shorten crosswalk distances, slow traffic speed, or protect cyclists with more than paint.
The editorial board of Seattle’s only remaining daily newspaper has an abysmal track record when it comes to supporting the Seattle transportation levy. Voters should take their recommendation with a boulder of salt.
Seattle voters are backing progressives and rejecting the centrist coalition that swept into power in 2023,. But it was a swing in voter preferences rather than demographics that propelled the progressive Rinck in the primary.
Onerous requirements for new water infrastructure that go further than Washington state law are a part of the problem when it comes to encouraging home building in Seattle.
Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 2025 budget would cut elsewhere to fund a 16% increase to the Seattle Police Department. The cuts to affordable housing and social services could backfire, undermining public safety and homelessness response.
Hoping to disrupt the drug trade and prostitution, centrist councilmembers are resurrecting regressive exclusion zone policies that have failed repeatedly in the past.
Spokane is advancing a package of urbanist-minded reforms that would make on-site parking optional for new buildings. It’s part of a broader effort to spur homebuilding and reduce car dependency in the Lilac City.
The Seattle Police Department hired a cop with a record of reckless driving who went on to kill Jaahnavi Kandula while driving recklessly. However, instead of tightening hiring protocols, Seattle officials are looking to loosen them further.
Paris aims to break the mold, using major public investment for the Olympic Games for lasting benefit to the host city. Improvements include a cleaner Seine, major transit expansion, and a new eco-district. But will those efforts go far enough to win over locals?
In 1873, Tacomans considered laying out their fledgling city according to a unique Frederick Law Olmsted plan. The city ultimately discarded most of the plan, walking away from a greener, more park-oriented Tacoma.
Part 2 of this four-part series examines arguments against focusing on land use in climate policy and provides counter arguments. Ignoring land use changes and relying on electrification alone is a slower and riskier path to decarbonization.
New York had been all geared up to become the first American city to implement congestion pricing later this month until Governor Kathy Hochul announced a stunning reversal, saying she intended to shelve the program on Wednesday. Transit riders and climate advocates are fighting back and aiming to b
BelRed combines a nascent South Lake Union, SoDo, and the International District. Spring District Station has a South Lake Union feel with tech offices emerging from a large light industrial presence. Both have some hidden gems.
Melanie LaPlant Dressel Park opened on April 11 as a beautiful park far away from the rest of the city. An elevated, wide ribbon of concrete — the roaring I-705 freeway — separates the park from its users. Tacoma should remove this barrier.
A million-dollar McLaren Elva briefly graced the 47th floor rooftop next to the jacuzzi to promote the “First Light” condo tower opening this summer. The housing market is working quite well for the rich, how about for the rest of us?
Seattle needs to allow more housing in today’s single family zones if it’s serious about its housing crisis. Strict multiplex size restrictions need to go from the Mayor’s growth plan.
From e-bike rebates to congestion pricing, policy should incentivize healthy, eco-friendly choices. These six ideas can achieve a dramatic mode shift away from driving and toward transit, biking, walking, and rolling.
Land use policy is a powerful tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. So why isn’t it a bigger part of the policy debate? This four-part ‘Land Use and Climate Change’ series explores that question.
Seattle and other West Coast cities are pushing for the right to clear encampments without offering shelter. But the U.S. Supreme Court would need to overrule the Ninth Circuit ruling deeming this unconstitutional as cruel and unusual punishment.
City leaders are weighing laxer hiring standards rather than improving SPD’s culture and accountability systems. But SPD’s bad reputation could be the bigger drag on hiring – not to mention safety outcomes.
If you’re detraining at Downtown Bellevue Station and looking for entertainment and sustenance beyond malls and without burning a crater in your wallet at a high-end restaurant, this is the guide for you. Of course there’s a gem or two in the malls, but we’re going
A huge Microsoft Campus “Refresh” redevelopment is underway next door to Redmond Technology Station. It will add three million square feet of office space, but not much housing and no highrises.
Founder Owen Pickford reflects on a decade of The Urbanist and urges urbanists to chip in to keep this institution strong. Please make a donation during our spring member drive.
Reforms being considered by Bremerton as part of this year’s major planning update include eliminating parking mandates, removing height limits in downtown, and expanding neighborhoods where additional density is allowed.
Mayor Harrell’s contract would make Seattle police the highest paid in the region, but no more accountable. The long-awaited new proposed contract between the City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) has been released, and police accountability advocates are viewing it as a slap in
With a transportation levy going to ballot this fall, advocates want at least 50% of investments to be dedicated toward pedestrian, bike, and transit upgrades. They also want the City to go big, with a levy of at least $1.7 billion, but the Mayor appears set to go smaller.
Eleven “Street Ends” along the south shore of Salmon Bay and the Fremont Cut offer great recreational opportunities. SDOT and volunteers from Friends of Street Ends work to maintain and expand these mini parks.
The current attempt to reshape how Aurora Avenue operates represents a phenomenal test for the City of Seattle. Is its pledge to end traffic deaths real or just for show?
New footage shows how police kettled protesters, trapping them in a corridor of violence in the early days of 2020 protests. Despite the historic magnitude of financial costs to the city across multiple legal settlements, in the three-plus years since the summer of 2020, the department internally ha
Seattle’s Republican City Attorney is disqualifying a progressive Municipal Court judge in a deeply undemocratic move, given that judges are elected and meant to be a check on executive power.
RapidRide projects soak up resources and take many years to come together. Instead of focusing on a trickle of RapidRide lines, Metro should ramp up bus service and route improvements systemwide with a network approach.
Zoning has created urban forms that are expensive, exclusionary, and unsafe — Tacoma’s attempt to reform zoning stands to create more livable and complete neighborhoods by tackling the many secondary effects of zoning.
Denmark’s capital city is committed to curbing pollution and making it easier and safer to get around by bike or foot. Copenhagen’s success has made it a global climate leader with countless accolades for sustainability and livability.
Mayor Harrell is seeking to quickly roll out gun-shot detectors and closed circuit cameras to feed into real-time crime center software, raising privacy concerns. Claims that this major expansion of the surveillance state will curb serious crime are largely unsubstantiated.
One of the most urbanist local elections is taking place right now and most voters have no idea. King Conservation District Supervisor Brittney Bush Bollay explains what their organization does and what’s at stake in this February election.
We are all fighting Heaven now. Ray Dubicki reviews the show Hazbin Hotel and bids farewell in his final column.
Transit is woven into America’s DNA. Despite car-centric policies, transit remains popular and primed for a comeback.
The stated goal of Kitsap County’s 2024 Comprehensive Plan Update is to maintain the county’s rural character by directing “the majority of growth toward urban areas” and supporting denser housing around transit. And while the County has some progressive ideas, the Comp Plan’s updated zoning rules don’
Ray Dubicki reviews the City Council vacancy “process” as an unselected applicant.
Protests that recently shut down I-5 have reignited a debate that goes back to the freeway’s beginning. Complicating the narrative of critics who believe major American thoroughfares should remain free of protest is the inconvenient fact that Interstate 5 was steeped in it from the beginning. A few
Misunderstanding the size of an acre, floor area ratio, and the area of a circle ruins many conversations about the basic shape of where you live.
Climate change and global warming must join safety, homelessness, and housing at the top of the City’s agenda. In the first Seattle City Council meeting of 2024, City Councilmembers stated their belief that social, racial, and economic justice for the disadvantaged is a moral issue, which must be addressed
Transit conveys culture as its conveys passengers. The former Russian capital provides some lessons on how the Seattle region could do better. Seattle has begun constructing a major light rail system with Link, defining the contours of its urban development for generations. Every mile of track laid and station opened
The Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) collective bargaining agreement has languished for three full years since its expiration at the end of 2020. That expired contract has held up accountability reforms that Judge Robart, the federal judge overseeing the City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Department’s consent decree,
Plummeting permits could point to a housing slowdown and less affordable housing money after a banner year. Seattle’s housing production set a new record in 2023, producing 12,853 new homes, according to data from the City of Seattle. This is the most homes built since at least 2005,
Council winnowed 72 applicants down to eight, with Tanya Woo and Vivian Song leading contenders. The Seattle City Council has a vacancy and 72 people applied for the position and were qualified as eligible by City staff. Among them are many people who just ran for Seattle City Council last
Holiday merrymaking should involve more whimsy, less rigmarole, and less price gouging. Seattle still hasn’t cracked the code to create a true Christmas market that doesn’t feel as if it was designed by the Grinch: cordoned off from the rest of city, hard to reach, the vibes are
Ambitious development is taking Washington State’s most overlooked city from ‘Vantucky’ backwater to hip. A few years ago an Urbanist reader approached me at a meetup and offered a story tip. Sleepy Vancouver, Washington on the Columbia River across the stateline from Portland, Oregon, was beginning to wake up.
We’ve all had a busy year. Really, there were four elections. Sure, that’s a regular occurrence in Seattle, but it’s still a lot. So, with one last look back, let’s say goodbye to the year that was by clearing the table on readings we coulda, shoulda,
With the dawning of the new year, will we finally be getting a new labor contract between the City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Officers Guild? The labor contract between the City of Seattle and the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) covers many issues you’d expect to see
The annual visit of the Krampus, bringing G.O.R.E. for the coming year. That is Goals to do, Obstacles to avoid, Resolutions to try better, and places to Explore.
The term “urban art” describes visual art forms that are created by and representative of city dwellers. While you may see pieces in galleries, urban art installations are primarily integrated into the landscape. They’re on buildings and street features. There’s increasing recognition of how vital urban art installations
Journalistic integrity demands we review the tapes for the last year, and own up to our failings. Here are the corrections and regrets for 2023.
JCTP is Bremerton’s 30-year transportation vision. It gets a lot of things right, but has some gaps. The Joint Compatibility Transportation Plan (JCTP) is a transportation collaboration between the City and the Naval Base Kitsap (NBK, aka ‘the shipyard’). The shipyard’s location was chosen precisely because it’
Economists are trying to figure out the dissonance between a recovering economy and America’s deep pessimism. They’re looking in the wrong place.
Splitting up the four-line, 116-mile system into smaller segments allows greater frequencies with fewer traincars. Link is in trouble. Service planning estimates widely missed the mark on how many trains that Sound Transit would need to run the Link system as it is expanded into the 2030s and
The agency is squeezing riders who take short trips to subsidize long rides and a suburb-focused service profile. Sound Transit is poised to implement flat fares for its light rail network, and while the agency paints the changes as user-friendly, most riders will experience the change as a
An excerpt from my new book, Heartbreak City, shows how Seattle kicked off a nationwide bike policing trend. A distant frontier city that had only recently been deemed one of the great metropolises of the United States, Seattle pioneered an unprecedented experiment in public safety in 1987. In the go-
How a proposed (and now permitted) large industrial development intersects with plans to engage South Tacoma Way in community-led planning. Residents of South Tacoma who oppose industrial development in their neighborhood received unwanted news in April of this year when the City of Tacoma announced its decision to approve
In March, King County Metro launched Metro Flex, an on-demand neighborhood van transit service. With a handy app, users can book rides to destinations within the seven separate designated service areas in Issaquah/Sammamish, Juanita, Kent, Othello, Rainier Beach/Skyway, Renton Highlands, and Tukwila. As with any new transit
Seattle’s climate plan calls for doubling bicycling, but SDOT is not building its bike facilities to handle the load. To bike to Climate Pledge Arena, home of two of Seattle’s professional sports teams as well as dozens of concerts per year, from Downtown Seattle, people using the city’
Last week, Spokane finalized its year-long effort to legalize more housing choices across the city. Their new code sets a statewide standard, and it should be emulated in cities large and small — from Seattle and Bothell to Yakima and Vancouver. Recall that under the zoning package passed last year,
Great transit can open up a city for runners of all abilities. Transit is a marginal consideration, if it’s one at all, for most runners. The median group run in the U.S. meets at a local eatery and runs a loop in a park, a format which works
Centrists cleaned up, but progressives have an opportunity to turn the tables next time. The 2023 election did not go the way progressives wanted. Four of five candidates that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell endorsed won. Meanwhile one of the two races that Harrell sat out — Districts 2 and 7 — also
The 15-Minute City can’t contain Buc-ee’s, the Texas gas station powerhouse showing how clean, friendly convenience is done.
It’s Thanksgiving and we have some stuff to be thankful for. Here’s to the year’s unexpected treats.
Agency leaders argued simple fares are better, even if it meant much steeper fares for short trips. Sound Transit is queuing up a major fare hike for most of its light rail riders, hitting those taking shorter trips particularly hard. Staff are recommending that flat fares replace distance-based fares
Metropolitan King County has 31 separate jurisdictions orbiting Seattle. Let’s cut that down by a lot.
The State has a role in defining the market for freight and charting emissions reductions with a shift to rail. When the Washington State Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) in 2021, it codified economic decarbonization as the government’s priority. To this end, the law created an ambitious
On Thursday, the Sound Transit System Expansion Committee approved a contract to start project development work on two Seattle infill stations. The long-awaited Graham Street and Boeing Access Road stations, which are planned to open in 2031, will move into early planning next year. The history of both stations
Seattle’s massive number of zones hide a couple very weird outliers. Or they would be outliers, if there weren’t so many.
Urge the Harrell administration to move forward with a plan for housing abundance and affordability. Despite an earlier pledge of an April release for the draft “One Seattle” Comprehensive Plan, the Harrell administration has repeatedly delayed the plan. The comp plan update serves as a once per decade overhaul to