Plans and Policy

Four Generation Defining Megaprojects Seattle Must Start Now

Seattle’s era of small thinking and smaller plans must come to an end. In order to face the combined climate and housing crises, the...

Opinion: Everyone (Especially Urbanists) Should Care About the Crisis Facing Seattle Schools

A public school is an essential part of any community. Here in Seattle, public schools are in crisis.  Last month, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) announced...

Ballard’s Historic District Board Looks to Blow the Roof Off Street Cafes

The future of wildly popular streateries now rests in a narrow view of the street's past. It’s 9am on a Thursday morning in the multipurpose...

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...