Seattle
Sound Transit's East Link Rail Line Needs $20 Million More for Engineering
Sound Transit had to deliver bad news last week about cost overruns in the design and engineering phase of the East Link rail project that will cross Lake Washington along the path of Interstate 90.

Lesson from Seattle: Zoning Is a Political Debate, Not a Policy Debate
The swift rejection of a proposal to upzone residential neighborhoods in Seattle inspired The Urbanist to evaluate the lessons of the episode. One takeaway: don't demonize single-family homeowners.
Dueling Proposals for Seattle's Waterfront Park
Eventually, Bertha will push through and create an alternative route for what is now Highway 99. Eventually, also, Seattle will decide on a plan to build a park where the viaduct now runs.

Downtown Seattle Works to Curb Driving as it Grows
With the highest levels of construction in over a decade, the city is working to reduce traffic congestion.
Seattle to Rely on Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has released a draft plan to overhaul the city's stormwater infrastructure to reduce the pollution levels in Puget Sound.

Seattle Tower-Spacing Rules Cause Controversy
To preserve views, zoning rules from 2006 require adequate distance between residential towers of a certain height. As developers chafe against the restriction, residents still worry they'll be left facing a wall.
Seattle Releases App to Track Development
Into an active development environment, and the resulting heightened pitch of development controversies, comes a new app from the city of Seattle that allows the public to track development projects.
Can Seattle Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis With Zoning?
Seattle returns to zoning as a tool to promote the construction of affordable housing.
Detaching the Family Car from Single-Family Housing
As parking reform takes to multi-family housing, the detached single family home has largely escaped discussion. Should it? Seattle (of course) is taking the lead. Also, is all of Minneapolis ready to eliminate parking minimums along transit lines?

The End of Single-Family Housing? Seattle Housing Committee Creates a Stir
A draft report, by the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) Advisory Committee created by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, includes language about single-family zoning that has provoked debate.
$73 Million Expansion Underway for Seattle's Pike Place Market
One of Seattle's most recognizable locations began work on sweeping changes on June 24, 2015.

How to Keep Young Families from Fleeing to the Suburbs
Millennials are loving their center cities these days, with their lofts and bars and yoga studios. But what happens when Millennials start to have families and don't quite fit, physically or culturally, into city life anymore?
Anti-Crime Measures for Seattle's Westlake Park: Foosball and Ping Pong
Call it tactical urbanism, call it reactivating spaces, call it good old fashioned fun—games like ping pong, foosball, and bean bag toss are central to plans to make Westlake park more hospitable.
Seattle Mayor to Create New 'Office of Planning and Community Development'
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray announced the creation of a cabinet-level Office of Planning and Community Development to address the city's explosive growth.
One Way to Vision Zero: Reward Good Behavior
A simple, innovative idea behind Seattle's Vision Zero initiative: good driving behavior should generate more positive outcomes.

Seattle NIMBYs Protest Dense Development, Cite Eastern Bloc
A zoning bill has stirred up the fear that dense development projects will transform Seattle into a "Soviet cityscape." Residents accuse developers of using loopholes to squeeze in pricey, out-of-character townhomes.
A Case Study in Planning for Inclusion and Affordability
New federal programs are enabling planning processes that deliver positive outcomes for a broader scope of the population. Seattle provides an example of how federal money is supporting the success of inclusive planning processes.

Breaking Down the Seattle City Council's 'War on Density'
Recent legislation considered (with some approved) by the Seattle City Council Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee takes anti-development politics to a new level in a city reacting to years of growth.

Seattle Confronts Its Transportation Bottleneck
By some measures, Seattle's geography makes other cramped cities like Boston and San Francisco seem positively agoraphobic. New Transportation Director Scott Kubly has vowed to keep Seattleites moving through its many bottlenecks.
Seattle Bikeshare Proposal Would Expand Service from 5 to 42 Square Miles
Seattle is showing all indications of a city ready to take its bikeshare system to the next level.
Pagination
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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