Seattle

A Closer Look at the Ambitious Plans to Cap I-5 in Downtown Seattle
Patano Studio Architecture is doing double duty as advocate and concept designer for an idea called Seattle C.A.P.
Seattle's First Hill Streetcar 'Soft Opened' on Saturday
The long-delayed First Hill streetcar offered its first trips to the public last weekend in Seattle. Big questions about the operation and effectiveness of the streetcar still remain.
12 Seattle Schools to Get the Safe Routes to School Treatment in 2016
The Urbanist takes a close look at the first of 12 Safe Routes to School projects scheduled for Seattle schools this year.

Bertha Stuck Again: Sinkhole Prompts Suspension of Highway 99 Tunnel Project
The adventure of Bertha the tunnel-boring machine, already two years behind schedule, has a new twist.
Seattle's New Light Rail Extension: On Time and Under Budget
Seattle, home to the most infamously bungled infrastructure projects in the country (the Bertha-blocked tunnel), has managed to do something rare for any city: complete a transit extension on-time and under-budget.

Proposal for West Coast's Tallest Skyscraper Won't Fly in Seattle
Federal regulators might have killed a proposal that would have built the tallest skyscraper on the West Coast in the city of Seattle.
Fixing Seattle's Most Dangerous Road
In-depth coverage of the improvement efforts underway on Seattle's Rainier Avenue.
More than Meets the Eye With Seattle Development Trends
Few housing markets serve as a better case study about the politics and effects of housing supply than Seattle. A local writer takes a deeper look at the city's total development over the past year and comes to some surprising conclusions.
Toll-Paying Motorists Crowding-Out Carpoolers in Seattle Area Express Toll Lanes
The new I-405 Express Toll Lanes between Bellevue and Lynnwood might be undercharging solo commuters at $10. Carpoolers, who drive for free, are increasingly hard to spot in the lanes, according to anecdotal reports.

Bertha Awakens—New Hope After a Two-Year Delay for Seattle Tunnel-Boring Machine
Baby steps are an improvement for the tunnel-boring machine known as Bertha. The drill moved a total of 1.5 feet this week, but the symbolic distance probably felt like a mile.
An Early Look at Seattle's Sound Transit 3 Ballot Initiative
Seattle is in the process of drafting a $27 billion transit funding initiative for the November 2016 ballot.

Seattle as the 'Next Detroit'
As the automotive industry of Detroit once inherited the wealth and assets of Pittsburgh's steel industry, one writer argues Seattle has now inherited the wealth and assets of the Silicon Valley.

Seattle Residents Angling For New Cap Park Over I-5
As Seattle’s Convention Center expansion moves forward, community members want the public benefit discussion to focus on a new downtown park over I-5.
Beware of Energy Rankings for Cities
In a special "Energy for Tomorrow" report, The New York Times looks at "clean city rankings" of energy efficiency and land use. But ranking cities is no easy task—"winners on one list may appears as sinners on another."

King County Metro Looks to the App to Solve the First Mile Problem
An app is helping to bring transit riders from their home to the nearest park-and-ride in King County, Washington.

Seattle Is Teardown Town
Mansionization, that conspicuous manifestation of the demand for larger homes, is alive and well in Seattle.
Seattle Rental Market Trending Toward the Affordable
The Puget Sound Business Journal is reporting that landlords and developers are concerned about the effects on the market from a wave of new housing supply ready to come online in the region.

Seattle's Famous Gum Wall Spiffed Up for the First Time in 20 Years
A unique landmark has been eradicated, at least temporarily. The Gum Wall located in Post Alley of the Seattle Pike Place Market, has been stripped of its sticky essence.
Commercial Linkage Fee Approved—Seattle Moving Forward with Affordable Housing Agenda
The Seattle City Council recently took the first legislative step in the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) process.
More Cities Declaring a State of Emergency Over Homelessness
Seattle is the latest city to declare a state of emergency in response to homelessness in the city. Los Angeles, Portland, and Hawaii took similar steps in recent months.
Pagination
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service