Plans and Policy

Council Candidates Mixed on Transportation Impact Fees Despite Pedersen Push Poll

Councilmember Alex Pedersen is renewing a push for Seattle to levy fees on new building projects to pay for capacity improvements to the city's...

Get Involved with Liveable Kirkland’s Toolkit for Activism

Providing public input for local policymaking can be mysterious and daunting. Liveable Kirkland’s Guide to Influencing Kirkland City Policy provides straight-forward instructions and tips...
The Capitol building in Olympia is marble colored and include pillars and a dome in the classic style.

Lessons from Washington State’s New Capital Gains Tax

Taxing the rich works like a charm. Last week we learned that the capital gains tax — which was passed by the state legislature in...

Let the Robots Write the Ordinance

Planners have a lot to wrestle with as ChatGPT comes to code drafting. “In the era of rapid urbanization and evolving urban landscapes, the development...

Sunday Video: Rethinking How To Measure Cities

The Urbanist does a lot of work with the data of cities. From tunnel budgets to climate impacts to new developments, there's numbers all...
Recreation of the Seattle flag. Cent sign on a blue back ground with text "Penny Wise Pound Foolish"

Op-Ed: Seattle is the Capital of Toxic Frugality

Next week is standardized testing at the kiddos’ school. The normal seven-class-a-day schedule will be reorganized to allow morning and afternoon blocks long enough...
A photo of a city skyline with cranes.

Pending Low-Income Tax Credit Expiration Could Cost 2,000 Affordable Homes

More than 2,000 units of affordable housing in King County alone could stop being affordable by the end of the decade because of the...
Someone on a bike crosses the street as pedestrians walk in a crosswalk and drivers wait to turn at Broadway and Pike in Seattle

Legislature Abandons Most Traffic Safety Bills As Fatalities Continue To Mount

In late January, a group of lawmakers from both the Washington House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, joined Governor Jay Inslee in a legislative...