Former Washington State Representative Margaret Hurley, aided by Margaret Leonard at the local level, saved the Logan neighborhood in Spokane from a freeway plan that would have razed 600 homes. Now the plan is reborn in another part of town.

In a two-part feature, Nicholas Deshais reports on an under-appreciated chapter of Spokane, Washington's history: the time the city's female representation in the state and local governments stopped the construction of a north-south freeway through the city.
The main subject of the articles is Margaret Hurley. "Though her name has faded from Spokane’s collective memory since she left elective politics in 1984, her effort is clearly on display on the east side of town."
"That’s because the freeway would’ve been built in the 1970s, but Hurley almost single-handedly stopped it," adds Deshais. "Hurley said she opposed the north-south freeway from the beginning because it was proposed to go up the Nevada-Hamilton corridor, blazing a route through the densely populated Logan neighborhood near Gonzaga University."
Among her legislative accomplishments, according to the second article in the series, Hurley "pushed through her law requiring an environmental review of every state highway project."
The law, and Hurley's opposition, saved the original 600 homes in the Logan neighborhood, but the state is again moving forward with the freeway plan, now called the North Spokane Corridor. The freeway is scheduled for completion in 2029, at the cost of $1.5 billion. According to Deshais, "the current route will raze 500 homes and 115 businesses when all’s said and done," by cutting through the neighborhoods of East-Central, Chief Garry and Hillyard.

FULL STORY: Getting There: The woman who fought freeways

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
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.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie