University of Washington: A Resilient Future Starts Here. Online Master of Infrastructure Management and Planning. Apply Now.
Raise the Wage Burien is bringing together a coalition of workers, community groups, and labor unions to gather petition signatures to put a measure on the ballot this fall to raise Burien’s minimum wage to parity with nearby cities like Tukwila, SeaTac, Seattle, and Renton. In contrast, the city council's version is riddled with loopholes.

Bellevue City Council All But Abandons ‘Bike Bellevue’ Network

By being crystal clear that most councilmembers don't support reallocating existing street space to create new bike corridors, the Bellevue City Council effectively rejected the network its transportation department created.
A red and gold RapidRIde bus waits an a bus shelter with the sign indicating it's headed to Federal Way Transit Center.

Metro Starts Federal Way Link Bus Restructure Planning

King County Metro is launching its bus restructure planning process to accompany Federal Way Link, which opens sometime in 2026 adding three stations and about eight miles of light rail between SeaTac and Federal Way. Fill out Metro's scoping survey.

Local Labor Leaders Hope to Sustain ‘Year of the Union’ Momentum

2023 was a banner year for union organizing nationwide and locally, but much work remains in 2024 to sustain gains and expand on them. And corporate bosses are not taking this without a fight.

New Energy for Changes on MLK Corridor, But Few New Ideas

Recent initiatives at both Sound Transit and the City of Seattle have put the issue of safety along the at-grade segment of light rail tracks in the Rainier Valley back in the spotlight.

Sunday Video: What’s Happening With American Malls?

Malls have been closing up in America for years now, but remaining malls continue to reinvent themselves and some are seeing wild...

Op-Ed: Here’s How We Can Fix Aurora Avenue – From People...

My name is Lucca Murdoch Howard, and I am a member of the Aurora Reimagined Coalition. We're a group that has been advocating...

Sound Transit Snags Federal Grant for South King County Bus Stations

The federal programs are aimed at repairing past harms from transportation infrastructure, but the two long-planned Stride stations leave much unrepaired. Sound...

More recent posts »

More features posts »

Newsletter Signup

Signup today and receive our weekly and monthly newsletters sent to your inbox. Keep up-to-date on our latest stories, events, and progress.

Join Us for Urbanist Panel Breaking Down 2024 Washington State Legislature...

The "Year of Housing 2.0" at the state legislature yielded less progress than expected. Our March 26 virtual event will conduct an autopsy.
The back patio at Stoup with Ryan Packer sitting at one of the table and apartment buildings in the background.

Join The Urbanist for Monthly Meetup on March 21

We meet at Stoup Capitol Hill starting at 5:30pm on the third Thursday of the month. We'll discuss the Seattle Comprehensive Plan this month.

Join Seattle YIMBY for Forbidden Homes Walking Tour of Ballard

Join host Markus Johnson for a Ballard walking tour on Saturday, March 16. Attendees will discover surviving examples of mid-sized home options such as duplexes, triplexes and small apartment complexes, while learning what prompted their all but disappearance and discuss opportunities to bring them back.

More events posts »

Support Our Work

The Urbanist is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. We depend on donations from readers like you to sustain our work. Subscribe as a monthly donor or make a one-time donation to help us grow.

Bellevue City Council All But Abandons ‘Bike Bellevue’ Network

By being crystal clear that most councilmembers don't support reallocating existing street space to create new bike corridors, the Bellevue City Council effectively rejected the network its transportation department created.

Bellevue Official Cleared in Bike Bellevue Ethics Complaint

Franz Loewenherz, a longtime employee of Bellevue's transportation department, has been cleared of wrongdoing after an ethics investigation into his work on Bike Bellevue. The complaint was made by a project opponent, who did succeed in causing a minor delay.

Sunday Video: Kirkland’s History of Exclusion and Opportunities to Change That

Historian Lorraine McConaghy rehashes the arc of Kirkland's history from blue collar boomtown with an industrial waterfront to bust town to its high tech resurgence, all while using a lens of racial equity and housing exclusion.

More Eastside Coverage posts »

Growth Plan Falls Short of Seattle’s Needs, Planning Commission Says

The Seattle Planning Commission has given the proposed One Seattle Comprehensive Plan a once-over. The reviews are not good.
Space Needle shrouded in wildfire smoke from Oregon and California in late summer 2020.

Op-Ed: Harrell’s Anemic Growth Plan Is Not ‘Space Needle Thinking’

The mayor's comprehensive plan proposal failed to deliver real solutions on housing abundance, affordability, and climate. It promises only modest zoning changes at the margins and 100,000 additional homes over 20 years.

Land Use Chair Tammy Morales Takes Aim at Proposed Seattle Growth...

In the first chance to discuss the Harrell administration's planned growth strategy, Morales was leagues ahead of her colleagues in articulating changes she wanted to see made, such as higher growth targets and more multifamily zoning, before earning her vote of approval.

More One Seattle Plan posts »

Transportation

More transportation posts »

Land Use/Housing

More land use/housing posts »

Commentary

More commentary posts »

A view of a sunset over a lake with a pier in it.

The Urbanist Podcast: Vote Up to the End

It's time to vote for Seattle City Council, a housing levy, and elected positions all over King County. The Urbanist has published its general...

Guest Podcast: Recycling America’s Railroads into Trails

The Urbanist Podcast is on summer break so we thought we'd share with you a guest podcast on a topic near and dear to...
A photo of King County ballot drop box on a sunny day.

The Urbanist Podcast: All About 2023 Primary Endorsements

Primary election ballots are arriving in the mail and due by August 1st. In the run up The Urbanist Elections Committee has been hard...

More podcast episodes »