Plans and Policy

We Need More Chairs

An accidental game of musical chairs at a packed community meeting on the Comprehensive Plan provided a microcosm for Seattle's housing crisis. When you come...

The One Seattle Plan Needs a Bold Alternative 6 

Seattle has grown much faster than planners and policymakers predicted, which means our planning framework needs to be nimble. Every ten years Seattle makes...

One Tool to Fight Plastic Pollution? Make Companies Pay for Packaging Waste

Over her winter break, Manya Gupta walked along Lake Tapps with her cousin looking for deer tracks. Instead, they found litter.  “I haven’t known a...
The Urbanist Events

The Urbanist Events Calendar

Welcome to the first week of 2023! As we get to the point where we can't say Happy New Year any more (or use...
A Metro bus operating on a snowy Beacon Hill. (Owen Pickford)

Transit Agencies Waive Fares on New Years Eve

Transit systems in the Puget Sound region will once again offer fare-free New Years Eve rides. The exception in Pierce Transit, which is charging...

Street Cafés Becoming a Permanent Amenity in More Puget Sound Cities

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to remember, but prior to the onset of the Covid pandemic, street cafés, sometimes called streateries, were few and far...
Picture take from Kirkland facing downtown midrises and City Hall

Google Planned New Sustainable High-Rise Campus in Kirkland

Update: On January 20th, 2023, the City of Kirkland announced that Google will not be proceeding with the sale of the Lee Johnson site...

Inslee Rolls Out ‘Substantial and Audacious’ Housing Agenda in Budget Proposal

The issue of housing and services for people experiencing homelessness dominated during last week's rollout of Governor Jay Inslee's proposed biennial budget, which will...