The city has proposed a "safe lot" for homeless residents living out of their cars, but the cost could run above $1,000 a person.
Seattle Times Columnist Danny Westneat weighs in a proposed "safe lot" in Seattle, "where homeless folks living in their cars can park off the street for the night."
The "safe lot" idea has been germinating in Seattle for a long time already, but now that the official proposal is here, it's mostly an example of government overspending, according to Westneat.
"Only this being Seattle, it’s projected to cost the city $382,000. That’s for overnight parking in one lot in the U District, holding 20 to 30 cars. Which means each spot would cost $1,000 to $1,500 a month – in the ballpark of what it costs to rent a studio apartment."
Westneat traces the origin of the idea, back to his own involvement in a story on the subject 15 years ago, and notes the other cities around the country that have implemented a similar program. (On that latter point, San Francisco is the most recent city to propose such a lot.)
"We don’t even have to travel to California to learn how," writes Westneat to explain that it should be much cheaper and easier to implement this idea. "Lake Washington United Methodist Church in Kirkland has been hosting up to 55 car-campers per night in its church parking lot since 2011 – which makes it one of the largest providers to the vehicular homeless on the West Coast."
For an indication of why the difference in cost arises, Westneat notes that the church uses volunteer labor, while the city will have to staff 24-hour security to appease neighbors.
FULL STORY: Parking spots for the homeless in Seattle, finally. But at a thousand bucks a month?
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.