Plans and Policy

SDCI’s Draft Recommendations To Revise Design Review Program

Major changes to Seattle's Design Review Program may be coming soon. Earlier this month, the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections (SDCI) released a...

Seattle Bike Activists Launch Major Infrastructure Campaign

On Saturday, January 31st, a coalition of local non-profits kicked off a grassroots campaign to accelerate construction of 250 additional miles of key Seattle...

Transportation Impact Fees Chugging Ahead with Lame Duck Council

The Seattle City Council is set to take a major step toward implementing a transportation impact fee program, following a public hearing on the...

Backyard Cottages: Return of the DADU

Last Wednesday, Councilmember Mike O'Brien hosted a well ­attended Lunch and Learn at Council Chambers featuring a panel of four detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU)...

High Time For High-Rise: Reduced Rezones Do Not Reduce Displacement

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...
A view of a mountain in the distance behind a suburban neighborhood

Legislators Should Build on a Powerful Tool That Improves Cities and Conserves Natural Landscapes

Walking among the gleaming towers in Seattle’s South Lake Union, there is a buzz in the air. The aroma of tantalizing restaurants, the din of...

New Connections: Building Urban Planning Networks to Foster Healthy Cities

People of color are more likely to develop chronic diseases and die younger than white adults. Genetics aside, environmental issues in urban communities--scarce access...
Downtown Tacoma's stretch of Pacific Avenue hosts the Tacoma Link streetcar. (Photo by Doug Trumm)

Tacoma Quietly Rezoned Residential Areas in Latest Comp Plan Update

In late September, the Tacoma City Council approved a large slate of areawide rezones and future land use map designation changes, which primarily affected...