The first new RapidRide bus line in South King County in over a decade, the I Line will connect riders with some of the area's busiest transit hubs including Kent and Auburn Stations and the forthcoming South Renton Stride station. Construction is expected to extend through 2027.
At the "State of Downtown" summit last week, budget fault lines and unlikely collaborations emerged, as business leaders acclimate to new progressive leadership at the City of Seattle and King County.
At a board retreat Wednesday, Sound Transit weighed three cost-cutting approaches that all included deferring light rail stations in Ballard and Interbay to a later date when funding allows. Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss pushed back against that approach.
The University of Washington Center for Human Rights reports a “powerful surge” in immigration enforcement in the region. Local officials are accelerating efforts to block federal detention center expansions.
Washington and Oregon will focus on replacing I-5's twin Columbia River bridges with a new freeway bridge ready to carry light rail to Downtown Vancouver, Governor Bob Ferguson announced Wednesday. The project is still facing a budget gap that could stretch into the billions.
Claudia Balducci leads with strong urbanist values, and is a key voice on transit, housing, and environmental issues. The Urbanist Elections Committee heartily recommends retaining her as District 6's King County Councilmember.
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.
Get your ticket to The Urbanist’s annual holiday party while supplies last. Our speaking program on December 9 will feature Seattle Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and other urbanist leaders and newly elected officials.
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.
The new regulations, which will stay in place for at least six months, require either façade preservation for older buildings or new façades that match them. Though the goal is to maintain Main Street’s pedestrian friendly atmosphere, little remains in place to prevent small business displacement fr
The $5.6 billion to $6.3 billion light rail line between South Kirkland and Issaquah is currently set to open by 2044 but could see further delays. Newly elected Mayor Mark Mullet wants the project to serve as an example of how to get creative in response to funding shortfalls.
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
