An ad includes a collage of two clinking wine glasses, a construction crane, dumplings and a cocktail glass. The title reads:

Opinion

A photo of a city with light rail under construction, streets, and tall modern buildings in the distance

Bellevue Had a Very Busy and Productive 2022

At The Urbanist, we've been intentionally working to expand our coverage of issues around the Puget Sound because the principals of good urban design,...

Seattle Must Stop Giving A/C the Cold Shoulder

Air Conditioning and Summer Insulation are Necessities, Not Amenities. After moving to Seattle in 2020 from Southern California, I was surprised to find that the...
An aerial view of a enormous highway crossing the Columbia River, a rendering from 2013

Washington State Is Losing Control of the Columbia Interstate Bridge Replacement Megaproject

Restarted by Governors Inslee and Brown in 2019, the IBR has been on a glidepath toward repeating the mistakes of the failed Columbia River...

Nuance In My Backyard

Nimbys, Yimbys, and How Toxic Waste Kicked Off Both Movements. For years, I’ve identified as a fervent Yimby advocate — an acronym which means “Yes,...

URBANIST G.O.R.E. 2023!

Once again at the darkest part of the year, we gather in the spirit of Krampus, the Christmas demon who takes bad children into...
Brightly colored Christmas lights and a Christmas tree in the center of a transit station.

Seattle Needs a Festive Outdoor Christmas Market

Seattle is a city of markets. There’s the world famous Pike Place Market, of course, and our extensive assortment of weekly and seasonal farmer’s...
A view of a mountain in the distance behind a suburban neighborhood

Seattle’s Geologic Hazards Can Be Overwhelming, But Preparation Can Start Now 

“Seismic” buttons in Seattle’s elevators hide ubiquitously in plain sight. When I was new to the city last year, these buttons were a reminder...

Unserious in Seattle 

The City's Comp Plan is seriously flawed from the start. Seattle knows how to get serious when we need to, whether that’s building trillion dollar...