Police and Public Safety

Sunday Video: How The Next President Could Change Policing

https://youtu.be/SHePglP28CM The outcome of the election could determine the fate of policing in America. Vox explains what qualified immunity is and its vast impact on...
A large first sculture on home plate of the baseball field at Cal Anderson.

19 Black Leaders Decline Invite to Durkan’s Equitable Communities Task Force

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the membership of her hand-picked Equitable Community task force Wednesday and prominent Black-led group like King County Equity Now and...
Protesters react with fists raised in solidarity as Nikkita Oliver takes the stage at City Hall on Wednesday June 3rd. (Photo by Doug Trumm)

Council Overrides Mayor Durkan’s Budget Vetoes

The veto overrides preserve $17 million for community safety programs, $3 million for participatory budgeting, and budget provisos intended to trim 100 positions from...
Protesters marching on Ballard Avenue with signs

Dear Seattle City Council: Override Mayor Durkan’s Veto and Divest from Racist Policing

Dear Seattle City Councilmembers, The Urbanist implores you to do the right thing, hold the line, and take an important step toward racial justice. The...
Protestors gather behind a police barricade at the East Precinct building, chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot,” on Sunday, May 31.

Court Monitor Bobb Helped Create Seattle’s Police Reform Mess

Former Mayor Mike McGinn contends Monitor Merrick Bobb's top-down approach doomed Seattle's police reform efforts from the start--long before SPD's recent fall from grace...

The Urbanist Meetup Tonight with Kirsten Harris-Talley, State House Candidate and Former Councilmember

Please join us tonight (September 8th) from 6:15 to 7:30pm for our monthly online meetup featuring Kirsten Harris-Talley, who is running for to represent...
A large contingent of police barricaded 4th Avenue with their bicycles, blocking a route out of Westlake Park. (Photo by Robert Cruikshank)

Seattle Police Fleecing City with Overtime, Report Shows

As Seattle pored over its police department budget this year, one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was $30 million in planned...

Three Upcoming Urbanist Events You Should Not Miss

We may be trapped in our houses still due a failing federal government, but that doesn't mean we can't connect with our fellow urbanists...