Washington

As urban cycling increases, cities like Seattle are finding that they need to change the way they think about users of the road.

This piece from Worldchanging looks at the Seattle-area city of Ballard. It's a "20-minute city", where people can get to practically everything they'd want or need to within a 20-minute walk.

High Country News reports on Fresno's infamous Taco Flat in this 4-pager. Seattle's Nickelsville and Portland's Dignity Village are held up as better examples of squatter settlements. Architecture and 'informal urbanism' of tent cities is examined.

A transit-oriented development boom in Southeast Seattle is coming to a halt, as the economic recession sets in.

Matt Fikse calls attention to a Seattle transit plan, which has few drawbacks but has been left to die by officials. Why the streetcar beat out the Rapid Trolley Network.

Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry looks at low gas prices, a down economy, and vehicle-miles-traveled, noting that the precipitous declines in VMT have halted, and suspects it may plateau.

Although denser is inherently greener, cities whose populations boom have their own set of challenges regarding sustainability. According to this article, achieving a balance between urban and rural growth is the most sustainable way to go.

Kent Kammerer asserts that by jumping too quickly on a TOD bandwagon that stresses density, local municipalities may leave out elements of social infrastructure and adequate services--the real driving forces behind successful, walkable areas.

Population growth estimates foresee the equivalent of an additional 15 Seattles concentrating in the Pacific Northwest over the next one hundred years. How the region handles this growth is up for debate, but with a distinct sense of urgency.

An ambitious bill encouraging dense, transit-oriented development in the Seattle area has drawn negative responses from residents who criticize its "one-size-fits-all" approach.

Plans to replace Seattle's aging inner-city freeway with a $4.2 billion tunnel and expanded bus service have many lawmakers concerned about being able to raise enough money to make it happen.

After a recent state ruling requiring Seattle and other Puget Sound cities to control polluted stormwater runoff, smaller cities and suburbs could be brought on board as well.

Officials in Washington have come to a consensus on plans to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle's damaged inner-city arterial. They've decided on a $4 billion tunnel, but the plans still need approval from the state legislature.

Seattle has been allowing developers to build higher buildings in exchange for contributing to a fund for affordable housing. But with few units built, officials are hoping to rewrite the legislation to remove restrictions and get more housing built.

The Seattle City Council recently approved a new affordable housing plan allowing builders to develop larger buildings if they include a certain amount of affordable units. But developers say the plan is ill-timed and they plan on ignoring it.

Planners and officials in Seattle have whittled down the list to just two ideas for replacing the city's damaged inner-city viaduct. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire reportedly wants a final decision by the end of the year.

Around Puget Sound, the spreading suburban fringe is changing the types of birds that live in those areas, pushing some out and attracting others. 'It's a change in who's top,' says a local biologist.

This column deals with two Seattle issues: one political - the victory of a transit measure on Nov. 4 that will direct $18 billion to light rail; the other human - a Sierra Club activist who made the campaign for Prop 1 a full time job.

Seattle needs major revisions to its transportation infrastructure, according to local officials. Getting the public behind the expensive projects may be as simple as saying one word: jobs.