Seattle
Seattle Voters To Be Put To Transit Test in November
Will a large city do what its county voters refused to do—fund the county bus system, though largely within city limits? Seattle voters will be put to the test in November when asked to pay an annual $60 vehicle fee and 0.1% sales tax.
Can a Parking Garage Village be Livable?
Students in Atlanta have designed a tiny house village inside a parking garage to help better understand how livable micro-housing projects can be.
Seattle's Envy? San Francisco's Big Alma Outperforms Big Bertha
Big Alma is one of two boring machines used to tunnel under the streets of San Francisco to construct the new Central Subway to Chinatown. Big Bertha, Seattle's infamous tunnel borer, has been stalled since December. Big Alma emerged on June 11.
Seattle Neighborhood Debates Zoning Changes Near Light Rail Station
The city of Seattle is considering a proposition to upzone the area around the Mount Baker light-rail station in South Seattle, which opened in 2009. Locals are split on the issue.
'Seattle's Greatest Social and Economic Experiment Is about to Begin'
That's how USA Today reporter John Bacon concluded his video on the Seattle City Council's historic vote to increase the city minimum wage to $15/hour in 3-7 years depending on the business. The outcome was never in doubt due to prior deliberations.
New Census Data Highlight Continued Growth of Urban Areas
It's hard to avoid tales about the country's urban boom; then the U.S. Census goes and releases data that totally backs it up.
Seattle City Council Votes to Limit Small Lot Development
After the Seattle City Council voted to approve new small lot zoning regulations this week, the decision was hailed as a victory for neighborhood interests. The city had placed a moratorium on small lot development in September 2012.
Do Old Buildings Contribute to Economic Vitality?
Emily Badger crunches the data on the argument by Jane Jacobs regarding the importance of old buildings to the economic health and quality of life of cities—an opinion described by Badger as "received wisdom among planners and urban theorists."
Dueling Proposals to Save Bus Service in Seattle
After a resounding defeat to Proposition 1, a countywide measure that would have raised fees and taxes to address an ongoing budget deficit at King County Metro Transit, Seattle is scrambling to find the money to preserve local bus routes.
Preserving Seattle's 'Ramps to Nowhere' as a Monument to Activists
Seattle Councilmember Jean Godden provides a history lesson and a call to action in an op-ed about the fate of a pair of "ramps to nowhere"—leftovers from the never-built R. H. Thomson freeway and, Godden argues, a monument to the "Seattle Process."
Washington State Developing Best Practices to Address Sea-Level Rise
Acknowledging that rising sea levels are a major concern for waterfront cities in Washington, the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) non-profit put together a review of the current policy and planning efforts to meet the challenge.
Seattle's New Council Election Format; Revisiting the 'Neighborhood Movement'
Starting in 2015, seven of the nine seats on the Seattle City Council will be elected by district. The new system has inspired some to rethink the city's neighborhood district council system.
New Seattle Bus Funding Initiative Addresses City-Suburb Split
It's a pattern seen as recently as two years ago in metro Atlanta: a crucial transit measure wins in the central city but dies in the more populous suburbs. The fix is to craft a city-only transit initiative—just what advocates in Seattle will do.
Seattle Area Voters Resoundingly Reject Transit Initiative
With 55 per cent of the vote, King County voters on April 22 opposed increasing their sales tax by one-tenth of one per cent and increasing an annual auto registration fee by $60. 72 Metro Transit bus routes will be eliminated.
Seattle’s Capitol Hill Light Rail Attracting TOD Attention
Sound Transit released a request for qualifications to build a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use TOD at the forthcoming Capitol Hill light rail station. Fourteen interested developers responded.
Seattle’s Cap on Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar Rescinded by Referendum
After Seattle Citizens to Repeal Ordinance 124441 acquired twice the necessary number of signatures necessary to send a March ordinance capping the number of Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar drivers in the city, the mayor will negotiate with the companies.
Seattle Adopts New Bicycle Master Plan
Resolution 31515, which officially approved the Bicycle Master Plan, is called a “transformational new way of thinking about bicycle projects within Seattle.” Time, and funding, will tell if the plan lives up to its promise.
Debating Proposition 1: Funding Transit in Seattle’s King County
“Vote no on Proposition 1, and send King County government a message that Metro has more work to do on righting its cost structure before asking voters for more revenue,” says an editorial from the Seattle Times.
Seattle Updating Zoning Regulations for Small Single-Family Lots
Planners in Seattle have responded to controversy over the size and scale of development on small lots in many of the city's single-family neighborhoods, with a new set of zoning regulations.
Seattle Caps Number of Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar Drivers
Seattle is the first city in the country to limit the number of transportation network drivers allowed on the road at any given moment. The new regulation is a setback for companies like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar and a major victory for cab companies.
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
