Member Drive Testimonial: Rubén Casas
From housing to transportation, The Urbanist is where we can find critical, informed, and human-centered perspectives. Become a member to support that work.
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Looking Back on The Urbanist’s 2025
2025 was a pivotal year for the Seattle region and for The Urbanist. Voters elected more urbanists to office than ever before, and The Urbanist also made strides as an organization. Let’s look back on the year that was, as we forge ahead.
Two Weeks Until The Urbanist’s Winter Holiday Party
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.
Join Us for The Urbanist’s November and December Events
Join for The Urbanist for our upcoming social meetups, Comprehensive Plan organizing, and our big holiday party extravaganza.
Join Us for The Urbanist Winter Holiday Party on December 9th
The Urbanist’s Annual Holiday Party is the biggest gathering of local urbanists and elected officials of the year. Mingle, celebrate our recent wins, and hear about the future of urbanism in the Puget Sound. Get your tickets today!
Kicking off The Urbanist Fall Subscriber Drive, Score Your Merch
This fall, The Urbanist is running our seasonal subscriber drive, with the return of The Urbanist beanie and a bike scavenger hunt next weekend.
Why I Support The Urbanist
As our Spring Member Drive nears its close, boardmember Jesse Swingle shares why he supports The Urbanist and why you should too.
Kicking Off Our Annual Spring Member Drive
We’re kicking off our two-week member drive, where we ask readers to chip in so we can sustain and grow our operation. This drive, we’re also offering a new perk: Make a qualifying donation and score an Urbanist beanie.
Year-End Report: Keep The Urbanist Strong Heading Into 2025
After a year of covering urban issues around Puget Sound, from Bremerton to Issaquah to Tacoma, The Urbanist is gearing up for an even bigger 2025. You can be a part of it. Donate today.
Get Your Tickets for Our Anniversary Celebration on December 5th
Join The Urbanist on December 5 at the historic Stimson-Green Mansion for an evening of celebration, reflection, and community. Space is limited. Get your tickets now!
Join Us December 5th for The Urbanist’s 10th Anniversary Celebration
Join The Urbanist on December 5 at the historic Stimson-Green Mansion for an evening of celebration, reflection, and community. Space is limited. Get your tickets now!
Final Push for The Urbanist’s Fall Member Drive
Give today to help us finish our fall member drive strong. Our members are crucial to powering our advocacy journalism. We couldn’t do it without you.
The Urbanist Breaks the Stories You Care About Around The Region
The Urbanist is in the midst of our fall membership drive. The coming months are some of the most pivotal the region has seen in recent memory.
Launching Our Fall 2024 Member Drive – Give Today!
Give today! We’re launching our two-week fall member drive to power our advocacy journalism.
Become a Member, Help Us Close Our Spring Drive Strong
It’s the home stretch of our two-week spring member drive, and we’re still short of our goal of 100 new members. You can help us get there! Donate today.
Spring Member Drive: We’ve Come a Long Way in 10 Years
In 10 years, our region’s political landscape has shifted dramatically toward the positions The Urbanist has held since the beginning. Join this member drive to grow our momentum and our movement.
Seattle Needs a Powerful Urbanist Media Outlet
Founder Owen Pickford reflects on a decade of The Urbanist and urges urbanists to chip in to keep this institution strong. Please make a donation during our spring member drive.
Spring Member Drive Kickoff: Celebrating 10 Years of The Urbanist
Please consider a donation as The Urbanist launches our spring member drive this tenth anniversary year. We’ve come a long way in a decade!
2023 Year-End Update and Fundraising Push
Let’s hit the ground running in 2024 – Give today! It’s been a big year for The Urbanist. In 2023, we continued to grow our coverage and we also passed the milestone of bringing on our first full-time reporter. Hiring Ryan Packer to a full-time position was well earned
The Urbanist Hires Ryan Packer As Full-Time Contributing Editor
The turn of the year has brought another milestone for The Urbanist, with the promotion of long-time reporter Ryan Packer to full-time contributing editor. Packer (they/them) has been paid on a per-article basis previously, but the promotion to a full-time staff position will allow greater stability and an ability
Subscriber Drive: Local Leaders Share Why They Support The Urbanist
Entering the home stretch of our fall subscriber drive, we at The Urbanist would be honored for you to join our wonderful crew of supporters. We think we provide a valuable service with our unique brand of advocacy journalism, but don’t just take our word for it. Here’s
Join Us on Our Journey to Another Decade of The Urbanist
Give today to invest in the next 10 years of Urbanist success. Are we there yet? This is a familiar phrase heard during a long or challenging adventure, and more than that, it often includes feelings of anxiety, dedication, and pride in getting there together. Ten years into our journey
Jesse Swingle: Why I Support The Urbanist
How many people do you know from Washington, outside Puget Sound? We don’t tend to make it here. A lot of us hide out – in the rivers and fields of eastern Washington, the currents of Puget Sound and tidepools of the Pacific, the mountains and foothills hugging the boundaries
Fall Donor Drive: Corporate Match and Tax Deductible Giving Options
Take advantage of our tax-deductible giving option with corporate matching eligibility. The Urbanist is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which frees us up to do endorsements and political advocacy in addition to our investigative reporting and informative news articles. However, most of our operations and activities are compatible with a
Fall 2023 Subscriber Drive Kickoff: 10 Years of The Urbanist
Give today to celebrate a decade of The Urbanist. The Urbanist will turn 10 years old in 2024. When we were founded in 2014 by a small group of volunteers frustrated with the lack of serious attention our region’s leaders were giving to our linked housing, transportation, and climate
Subscriber Drive Testimonial: Shaun Kuo
We’re nearing the end of our Spring Subscriber Drive, and we need your help. Our editor and board treasurer Shaun Kuo explains why he subscribes and volunteers at The Urbanist: The work of advocates past has granted me the privilege to be born and raised in Seattle. Without civil
Subscriber Drive Testimonial: Jesse Simpson
It’s our Spring Subscriber Drive, and we’d love for you to join our team of supporters. Among them is Urbanist boardmember Jesse Simpson, who by day is Government Relations and Policy Manager for the Housing Development Consortium. Jesse explained why he’s a subscriber: As someone deeply involved
Subscriber Drive Testimonial: Kate Brunette
It’s our Spring Subscriber Drive, and we’d love for you to join our team of supporters. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s what subscriber and friend of the organization Kate Brunette had to say: After studying bus rapid transit and living abroad in
The Urbanist Is Now Accepting Corporate Match and Tax Deductible Gifts
Double or triple your gift with our new donation option At The Urbanist, we think that both political advocacy and unbiased news articles are important to a well-informed public. Many readers rely on The Urbanist’s election recommendations when it’s time to vote. And you use our political analysis
Kicking Off Our Spring 2023 Subscriber Drive
We’re launching our Spring Subscriber Drive at a momentous time. We just had a monster week covering some pivotal Sound Transit happenings, providing deep dives and explainers you can’t get anywhere else. We also announced today we’re hiring a new managing editor as Ray and Natalie are
2022 Report: A Year of Achievement for The Urbanist
The Urbanist team is extremely proud of the year we had. Our coverage expanded across the Puget Sound region. We launched a podcast and a book club. We offered a variety of in-person events and tours to pair with our continued monthly online speaker series that has replaced our monthly
Finishing Out Fall Drive, Thanks to Our Donors
It’s the last day of our fall subscriber drive. Thanks to all our readers who donated this drive. We couldn’t sustain this organization, let alone look to broaden our operation, without your steadfast support. Thanks to a surge of gifts, we are close to hitting our $2,000
As The Urbanist Grows, So Does Our Board
The Urbanist has grown a lot since its founding in 2014. When I first got involved in 2015 by showing up to meetups in a coffee shop in South Lake Union, it was a scrappy organization (by the loosest definition of the word) with no real staff, money, or even
Subscriber Drive Testimonial: Erin Fried
The Urbanist is a rare gift. Its reporting evokes a passion for civic life that goes beyond intellectual — these are the people who sit through council meetings on transit in Everett and committee meetings on affordable housing in Tacoma. In between, they are documenting life in the right-of-way via Twitter
Subscriber Drive Testimonial: Rian Watt
Cities are complicated places, and the people who live in them are complicated too. It can be hard to cut through all the noise and figure out what it’s going to take to build the kind of communities we all want to live in: vibrant, affordable, safe, and filled
Rubén Casas: Why I Subscribe to The Urbanist
These days, it’s difficult to come across people who simultaneously recognize that there is much, much work to do in how we organize our lives in cities and metropolitan regions, and who champion them anyway. And there are many reasons to champion our cities in Puget Sound, even as
Broadening Our Scope: Publication Update Fall 2022
There may still only be a faint whisper of autumn in air, but despite the warm weather across Puget Sound, it’s undeniable that we are shifting into the final months of 2022. That seasonal progression has put me into a reflective state of mind, and so as I prepared
Announcing Our Fall 2022 Subscriber Drive
We could really use your support during our Fall Subscriber Drive, which we started this week. The Urbanist is able to maintain its independent journalism focused on issues that matter most to you because of reader support. Twice a year, we run subscriber drives asking you to support our unique
Last Day of Our Spring Subscriber Drive – Give Today!
Today is the last day of our Spring Subscriber Drive, and to grow The Urbanist we need your support. To close out strong, we need 11 people to chip in today to reach our goal of surpassing 100 donations this drive. We are growing fast, but that takes greater financial
Crystal Fincher: Why I Subscribe to The Urbanist
The Urbanist is one of my go-to sources, and if you’re reading this, I imagine it might be one of your favorites, too! Isn’t it refreshing to read the work of local journalists who understand the benefits of housing everyone, enabling people to live near where they work,
Achieving New Heights: Spring 2022 Publication Update
We are only three months into 2022, and yet the year has already proven to be a groundbreaking one for The Urbanist. Last fall, we set record highs for readership during the month of October, buoyed by our thorough coverage of the Northgate Link light rail expansion. We hoped to
Ruth Lipscomb: Join Me in Supporting The Urbanist
As the newest board member of the Urbanist, I’d like to share why I’m a supporter and invite you to join me by making a meaningful donation of your own. I can’t overstate the value of local reporting. Most of us want information on the issues that
Launching Spring Subscriber Drive to Grow The Urbanist
The Urbanist has launched its Spring Subscriber Drive and we’re asking you to become a monthly donor or give an annual gift to #GrowTheUrbanist. If you count on our coverage and advocacy, we’re counting you to step up. It’s an exciting time of new developments at our
Subscriber Drive Thank You: Fall 2021 Edition
Yesterday we turned off the donation pop-up and went back to interruption-free programming. We’d like to thank everyone who donated during our Fall Subscriber Drive. As of this post, 104 people chipped in during this drive, a new record. As promised, the first $2,000 will go toward paying
Building on The Urbanist’s Vision
Stepping into my new role as Managing Editor of The Urbanist has made it clearer for me than ever how much effort it takes to produce a quality publication. Every story we publish is the result of vigorous research and careful writing, most of which is accomplished by volunteers who
Home Stretch of the Fall 2021 Subscriber Drive
The Urbanist’s Fall Subscriber Drive comes to an end this weekend, but we want to finish strong. Already 88 readers have donated or subscribed. With a strong finish we can beat our record from last spring — 94. We are grateful for the outpouring of support. We quickly raised $2,
Subscriber Drive Testimonial: Anna Zivarts
As part of our subscriber drive, we include testimonials from our supporters. Here’s one from Anna Zivarts, Director of Disability Mobility Initiative at Disability Rights Washington. (Zivarts has contributed a few guest pieces with us, too.) I am a proud supporter of the Urbanist. Here’s why. Many years
Publication Update: Fall 2021 Subscriber Drive Edition
There’s no doubt that fall has arrived. The days are shorter (and wetter), budget squabbling is enfolding over at City Hall, the campaign season for various city seats is in full swing, and the Northgate Link light rail extension is finally open for business. These last three items have
All Aboard The Urbanist’s Fall 2021 Subscriber Drive
Today as Northgate Link opens, The Urbanist is launching our Fall Subscriber Drive. We could really use your support to continue to report on and advocate for gamechanging investments like those bearing fruit today. If you count on The Urbanist to break down the latest Seattle news (look no further
Spring Subscriber Drive Recap and Thank You
Thank you to everyone who chipped in during our Spring Subscriber Drive. Through your generosity we were able to have our largest fundraising drive ever. This is a big step on the way to turning The Urbanist into a permanent institution and growing our capacity. We’re so grateful to
Publication Update: Spring Subscriber Drive Edition
It’s starting to feel like spring in a lot of ways. The days are getting longer and Covid vaccines are being administered at record rates. There’s hope the pandemic will be in check before winter. We’ve weathered the storm and passed the one year mark on the
Subscriber Drive Testimonial: Calvin Jones
In an effort to continue providing great journalism, programming, and advocacy, we’ve launched our Spring Subscriber Drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below is a testimonial from Calvin Jones, organizer with
Spring 2021 Subscriber Drive Financial Update
Last year, The Urbanist started paying an Executive Director for the first time since its founding. The new director started in December 2019 and spent most of last year learning the ropes of fundraising, continuing to manage the organization’s editorial duties and filling in articles whenever we had gaps.
Testimonial from Share The Cities
In an effort to continue providing great journalism, programming, and advocacy, we’ve launched our Spring Subscriber Drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below is a testimonial from Share The Cities. The
Kicking Off Our Spring 2021 Subscriber Drive
We’re launching our Spring Subscriber Drive today and we could really use your support. If you count on The Urbanist to break down the latest news in urbanism and Seattle politics, we’re counting on you to help us keep the lights on and grow our team. Our vision
Fall Subscriber Drive Recap and Thank You
Thank you to everyone who donated during our Fall Subscriber Drive. We gained 43 new subscribers and that goes a long way to making The Urbanist a sustainable institution. We run on support from our readers. An expanded subscriber base means more coverage and advocacy; it means adding more staff
Subscriber Drive: Publication Update
During our subscriber drives, we look back at what we’ve been up to over the past year. 2020 didn’t bring a lot of fuzzy moments, but we’re proud of how we persevered. As the Covid-19 pandemic ramped up in the spring, we struggled with how to proceed
Fall 2020 Urbanist Financial Update: Overcoming a Recession
2020 marks a transition in our spending strategy at The Urbanist. At the beginning of the year we started paying one of our long-term volunteers and former publication director, Doug Trumm, to development work. Our executive board (which I serve on as treasurer) also promoted him to the Executive Director
Subscriber Drive: Summer Stinson Testimonial
The Urbanist is in the midst of its Fall Subscriber Drive. Here’s a testimonial from progressive advocate Summer Stinson. I rely on The Urbanist for reporting, investigation, analysis, and recommendations for local and state issues. Humans thrive in dense and walkable cities with excellent public transit, public schools, and
Kicking Off Our Fall 2020 Subscriber Drive
Today marks the start of our annual fall subscriber drive. First off, thank you for reading The Urbanist. We’re proud of the work we do and grateful for the readership. Our work would not be possible without support from our readers. Over the next two weeks, we’ll make
Fall Subscriber Drive Kicks Off with Charles Mudede Event September 30th
Filmmaker and Stranger editor Charles Mudede is headlining an event on Wednesday, September 30th kicking off The Urbanist’s annual Fall Subscriber Drive. The hour-long conversation starting at 6pm will be moderated by Cary Moon. Mudede and Moon teamed up on a four-part series on the housing crisis in The
Testimonial: Former Mayor Mike McGinn
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy, and analysis, we’re running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below is a testimonial from Mike McGinn, who was
Envisioning an Urbanist Future
Thanks to everyone who has donated to The Urbanist during our subscriber drive this month and to those who attended our first fundraiser ever on Sunday. A special thanks to Brittney Bush Bollay and Cary Moon for headlining the event. It’s truly an honor to advocate alongside such inspiring
Testimonial from 350 Seattle
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy, and analysis, we’re running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below is a testimonial from 350 Seattle. Good urban
Publication Accomplishments: Help Us Keep Up the Good Work
The Urbanist is sustained by volunteer writers and we got some new contributors in the last year that helped spread the workload. Ray Dubicki and Shaun Kuo became regular contributors and we appreciate their insight and persecptive. They helped us maintain our hallmark depth of coverage focusing on sustainable transportation
Opening 2020 Subscriber Drive Kickoff and New Executive Director
The Urbanist kicks off its opening 2020 subscriber drive today. For the next two weeks we’ll be asking readers like you to contribute financially so we can continue the work we do. While The Urbanist accomplishes a lot with an amazing group of volunteers, the publication needs paid staff.
Grow The Urbanist: Join Us for a Fundraiser Reception February 9th
Our Spring Subscriber Drive starts Monday and this year we’re adding a fundraiser to the schedule. Hear from urbanist leaders and organizational leadership. The event will be 2pm to 4pm on Sunday, Februray 9th at Peddler Brewing Company in Ballard (directions here). It’s a great chance to meet
Grow The Urbanist This #GivingTuesday
This Giving Tuesday we’re asking you to contribute to The Urbanist. Our writers and organizers pour thousands of hours of volunteer labor into our journalism and advocacy. We’re proud of our work, but we’re also looking to expand our operation and add more paid staff so we
Thank You, 2019 Subscribers!
To all our readers that donate, THANK YOU. Sunday was the last day of our fall subscriber drive and we we’re really impressed with all the support folks have shown. If you read The Urbanist, you probably care about the future of Seattle. How will the city grow while
Fall Subscriber Drive: Publication Accomplishments
First of all, we in the publication team would like to thank our readers to continue to support our work. More people than ever are reading our work. While in 2018, we averaged 34,600 users visiting our online publication each month, so far in 2019, we’re averaging more
Fall Subscriber Drive Kickoff
Today we’re kicking off our fall subscriber drive. The Urbanist was founded as an all-volunteer organization and has operated that way for most of our five-year history. Despite a proud list of accomplishments, it’s become more and more apparent that we need paid staff. To that end, we’
Subscriber Drive: 2018 Publication Accomplishments
The Urbanist published 594 articles in 2018. On average, 34,600 users visited our blog each month in 2018. Both were new records. So thanks to our readers for giving us your time and engaging in this citymaking conversation with us! Stronger output was built in part on new contributors.
Subscriber Drive: Cary Moon Testimonial
What is a city anyway? Try to answer that; it’s not as easy as you think. We could say it’s a collection of people united by not just geography but an ever-changing culture, economy, and social practices. We could say it’s the political structures, community organizations and
Subscriber Drive: 2018 Urbanist Programming
While The Urbanist is mostly known for its high quality journalism and hot takes on local issues, the organization also has been striving to expand our event programming. The goal of our programming is to provide educational opportunities for people in our region about its history and the policy decisions
Subscriber Drive: Alex Hudson Testimonial
The Urbanist is a community-driven resource, reporting on a range of urban issues in our region. In addition to its online reporting, The Urbanist’s events and community building opportunities provide valuable spaces for community-building and education offline. The Urbanist’s events such as monthly meetups and walking tours are
Subscriber Drive: How We Put Your Donations to Good Use
The Urbanist strives to be good stewards of your donations, delivering high value for the price of a small ongoing donation. This is more and more important as we as a society struggle to fund journalism amidst attacks on its legitimacy, layoffs, and declining revenue. You can read about the
Subscriber Drive: Recapping Our 2018 Policy Work
2018 was a funny election year. Faced with a spreadsheet of state legislative races long enough to make the election board’s eyes bleed, where dozens and dozens of candidates in urban and not-so-urban districts deserved consideration, a dedicated volunteer crew at The Urbanist dug into the process of narrowing
Subscriber Drive: Teresa Mosqueda Testimonial
The Urbanist has been an essential outlet in our city, deconstructing policy ideas in an intersectional way. Recognizing that “the market” alone will never be enough, and that building housing in a vacuum without infrastructure and community assets leads to poor outcomes, The Urbanist’s work to weave social justice
Subscriber Drive: The Urbanist Development Team’s 2018 Accomplishments
In 2018, The Urbanist notched one of the biggest accomplishments since its inception. We brought on a paid, part-time Operations and Development Manager. Our volunteers worked thousands of hours in 2018 to fulfill our mission and affect policy. However, our capacity fluctuates wildly, since we depend almost entirely on volunteers.
Subscriber Drive: Katie Wilson Testimonial
If only there were an online publication that combined timely news reporting, knowledgeable analysis of urban policies, and concern for equity—and also wasn’t afraid to jump into the fray and take a stand on controversial issues. Oh wait, that exists! It’s called The Urbanist! There are two
The Urbanist Kicks Off a Winter Subscriber Drive
2018 was a big year. We’re excited with what we accomplished at The Urbanist, but we’re also aware of the need to make our organization more durable. Volunteers come and go, as do donors, but somebody still has to write stories, organize events, and keep the lights on.
My Name is Alex and I’m Here to Help Grow The Urbanist
My name is Alexander Wheeler, but you can call me Alex. I am the new Operations and Development Manager for The Urbanist. I’m your neighbor, and I’m also a benchmark–I represent this organization’s goal of growing and increasing our capacity, engagement, and involvement. That’s what
Introducing Alex Wheeler, Operations and Development Coordinator
The Urbanist is approaching its fifth anniversary. From the start, we’ve wanted to help shape a better city for all. We know building a better city won’t happen with one campaign or election. It will require time and perseverance. Most importantly, it will require institutions with strong values,
Apply to Work at The Urbanist
Last year we conducted our first fundraising drive and saw a tremendous amount of support. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who has made donations! And we hope readers continue to donate. These donations, coupled with advertising revenue and walking tour revenue, has made it possible to hire our first
More Testimonials For The Urbanist
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy, and analysis, we’re running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is pretty valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below are two more testimonials from leaders at
Testimonial From Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy, and analysis, we’re running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is pretty valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below is a testimonial from Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
Accomplishments Over The Last Six Months
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy, and analysis, we’re running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We already outlined how we’ve spent money in the past and where we plan to spend money in the future. This will allow us to improve
Testimonial From Seattle Subway
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy, and analysis, we’re running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is pretty valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below is a testimonial from Seattle Subway. The
Guiding Principles For Urbanism
This week we’re doing a fundraising drive at The Urbanist. Becoming a monthly donor supports local, independent journalism that aligns reporting and editorials with urbanist values. To give readers a sense of these values, The Urbanist crafted principles for guiding city policy. Values Of Urbanism Successful urbanism values accessibility,
Testimonial From Mike O’Brien
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy and analysis, we’re running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We think what we do is pretty valuable, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Below is a testimonial from Seattle City Councilmember
#FundTheUrbanist: Our Budget And Fundraising Goals
In an effort to continue providing great content, programming, advocacy, and analysis, we’re going to be running a fundraising drive this week at The Urbanist. We’re calling the campaign #FundTheUrbanist. It may come as a surprise, but all of the work we do here is completely volunteer. Overall,