This week, Mayor Katie Wilson announced Seattle would would be taking a "taller, denser, faster" approach to its growth plan. A greatly expanded scope for Phase 3 would mean more growth centers and wider transit corridor rezones. Just how wide is not yet clear.
Governor Bob Ferguson signed a historic “millionaires’ tax” on Monday. Democratic leaders see it as a huge step forward in balancing the state’s tax code, but the tax will need to survive a court battle and Republican-backed repeal campaigns.
Mayor Katie Wilson's library levy proposal would maintain services, but advocates contend significant needs would go unmet without more funding. At least one Seattle councilmember has drawn a hard line against increasing the levy size, but others are pushing to go bigger.
The recent opening of Judkins Park Station is a big step forward for transit access, but Seattle's South End must not be left behind in the next round of light rail expansion.
On Tuesday, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay unveiled his "Breaking the Cycle" Initiative tackling the housing and homelessness crisis, which could include a countywide affordable housing levy that could go before voters as early as 2027.
A safety project along a busy four-lane road in West Seattle would be a catalyst project for neighborhood accessibility. But it's run into significant push back from residents wary of losing a lane of traffic.
Join The Urbanist and Complete Communities Coalition for a housing rally on April 6, pushing for a bolder Seattle Comprehensive Plan that promotes affordability and abundance.
Join The Urbanist for our March socials, including riding the 2 Line across the lake with us on March 28th!
The Urbanist is hosting social meetups on February 19 (in Seattle) and February 26 (in Redmond). We’re also hosting a talk on the Seattle Waterlines Project on March 3 in Capitol Hill.
Join us for our January socials in Seattle and in Redmond, plus a special North Sound event recapping the 2025 election and looking to the political battles ahead.
Since 2010, Mercer Island has added just 549 housing units in its "Town Center" on the doorstep of a brand new light rail station opening this weekend. State intervention could force more housing to get built, but a big opportunity has been missed so far.
Under threat of state sanctions, Mercer Island is set to upzone its relatively dense Town Center area to eight stories, along with new provisions intended to create affordable housing. But a broader zoning overhaul that would fully optimize the city's light rail connection is still years away.
The crowded community meeting was the first step in an advocacy campaign intended to persuade members of the Sound Transit board about the value of continuing light rail expansion on the Eastside. Issaquah city leaders are bringing ideas to the table they say could cut costs.
When it opens in 2028, the S3 rapid bus line will provide riders across Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline with a more frequent, reliable transit option and extend the reach of Sound Transit’s light rail network.
While the upgrades wouldn’t happen all at once, and would only go in as other maintenance work occurs, the proposed concept sets a strong baseline for one of the state’s most dangerous surface highways.
On the whole, there were bright spots for urbanist candidates all around the region, with major gains seen in Burien, Redmond, and Tacoma. There was also some backsliding in places like Sammamish and Bainbridge Island.
Pierce County is set to consider an ordinance on March 24 that would prohibit a new ICE detention facility within its unincorporated areas. On March 3, King County passed just such an emergency ordinance. Advocates hope officials can do more to block illegal detentions.
A new lawsuit against the Northwest ICE detention center in Tacoma underscores the abusive conditions detainees face. Meanwhile, some local cities are seeking to block ICE’s plans to expand detention facilities in the region.
The Pierce Transit Board is considering a ballot measure in November 2026 that would boost funding to expand bus service, make routes more frequent, and create new connections to light rail. Two advocacy leaders make the case for this measure.
The Urbanist's Ryan Packer, Amy Sundberg, and Doug Trumm discussed recent news out of Olympia, candidate campaign rollouts, and King County transportation funding woes.
In this podcast episode, The Urbanist’s newsroom dives into recent headlines including Katie Wilson’s State of the City speech, which bills are moving and which are dying at the Washington State Legislation, and the Seattle Social Housing Developer’s latest moves.
In this episode of The Urbanist Podcast, our newsroom discusses what the crosslake 2 Line opening will means for the region, what removing Claudia Balducci as System Expansion Committee Chair means for Sound Transit, and what the region is doing to address a constitutional crisis created by Trump’s
