Washington

In New York and Washington, Rod Stevens reports on two very different examples of the importance of programming, or "software", to placemaking.

University Place, Washington is a small town struggling through the recession. With its credit rating recently downgraded and labeled a "negative outlook," the town is facing new challenges as it tries to emerge from the hole.

Chuck Wolfe analyzes his 2011 articles which appeared on Planetizen and in other sources, and derives his urbanist trends to watch for in 2012.

Proliferating faster than bike lanes or bike parking racks may be the chevron symbols in the pavement with bicycle icon informing cyclists and motorists alike to "share the road". But can too many sharrows be a bad thing, asks Grist's Elly Blue.

Ethan Epstein chronicles the work of Seattle's mayor, Mike McGinn, who won office in 2009 from established candidates and a powerful incumbent on a "philosophically anti-car" base.

Mike Linbom cites the popularity of greenways for why the city is considering spending $100,000 more than the original plan's cost to update it, after just four years.

Seattle's East Link light rail extension project is said to be completed in 2023 and will attract about 50,000 riders a day, says Yonah Freemark. In addition, the city council wants a section of the line to be tunneled under Downtown Bellevue.

Under the "living building" pilot program, a handful of developments get to bypass the usual zoning for sticking to some of the most stringent building standards in the world. But one developer wants an additional 10 feet of height for it.

An upcoming ballot measure will create $204 million for new transit. The most controversial part of the measure would be an allotment for planning and and possibly building a new streetcar line.

Chuck Wolfe says that urbanism that can readily occur in urban neighborhoods "without really trying" as people naturally come together in impromptu ways.

For better or worse, cities mimic each other, making replicas of great landmarks down to unique light fixtures. The Infrastructurist selects top 5 cities that do the job well. Not surprisingly, Shanghai earns the title as the hallmark of knock-offs.

Mark Hinshaw writes that back in 2006, developers were snatching up any bit of undeveloped land in Snohomish County, WA. Today, those far-flung projects have suffered much more than inner-city developments.

In a bold move to secure its place as the bastion of sustainability, Seattle sets out to build a series of the "greenest commercial building on earth."

When city leaders proposed redeveloping the South Lake Union area of Seattle, they made big promises for job growth. Just a few years in, their expectations have already been exceeded.

Roger Valdez set out to read and review the entire land use code of the city of Seattle. Now that he's done, he says it's time to rewrite the whole thing.

In Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood, a local with a wicked sense of humor has taken planning into his/her own hands, posting a plan to turn an empty eyesore of a lot into a public park.

A long simmering debate over how to deal with a damaged inner city freeway has seemingly found a conclusion as voters in Seattle have approved a plan to begin work on replacing the freeway with a tunnel.

A recent "political compromise" forces Metro to phase out the City's highly popular free bus service that serves over 10 million riders per year.

Aspiring to become carbon-neutral by 2050, the Emerald City commits to an ambitious plan that relies on a 10% purchase of carbon offsets.

Zoning codes that mandate a certain number of parking spaces for businesses that serve on-site alcoholic beverages are inconsistent with law enforcement's campaign against drunk driving, says Eric de Place.