The city of Seattle will have an updated comprehensive plan by the end of 2024, with zoning changes to follow by 2025.

The Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) recently unveiled rezoning concepts for the 2024 “One Seattle Plan” comprehensive plan update, according to an article by Doug Trumm for the Urbanist.
OPCD is soliciting public feedback through July 25 on the proposed zoning changes for the One Seattle Plan, and will release a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the comprehensive plan by April 2023. Rico Quirindongo, acting director of OPCD, is quoted in the article saying that public feedback is essential to ensuring that the proposed rezoning concepts provide “the right range of options for where we encourage new housing and jobs in Seattle.”
Trumm identifies the “Combined” Alternative 5 as the most promising rezoning concept from an urbanism perspective:
For urbanists, the “Combined” Alternative 5 emerges as a clear favorite as it combines a “missing middle” gentle density approach in Neighborhood Residential zones with more focused zoning changes on transit corridors and in expanded urban village boundaries, allowing for the best of both worlds. Alternative 5 would best encourage housing growth, promote a diversity of housing choices, while also pulling in more affordable housing contributions via the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program, which does not currently apply to development in Neighborhood Residential zones, which is predominantly single-family detached homes.
According to Trumm, the other rezoning concepts are 1) No Action, 2) Focused, 3) Broad, and 4) Corridor. A matrix of these conceptual alternatives is included in the source article below. Trumm includes recommendations for how alternatives 2, 3, 4, and 5 can be improved to better meet the needs of Seattle in the future.
“Seattle’s last major Comprehensive Plan update in 2015 aimed to accommodate 120,000 new residents over 20 years,” explains Trumm for context on the pressure to get set the right targets and provide the right tools with the current update of the plan. “In 2015, The Urbanist editorial board pushed the city to go bigger by expanding and adding more urban villages, but the City stuck with the more modest changes it had planned. Seattle ended up adding about 130,000 residents between 2010 and 2020 alone, according to census figures, which suggests the previous growth target was set too low.”
FULL STORY: Seattle Reveals Rezoning Concepts and Invites Scoping Comments for Big 2024 Update

Keanu Reeves Set to Play Daniel Burnham in ‘The Devil in the White City’
Planning is going to get a new level of star power as a limited series adaptation of The Devil in the White City gets ready for television screens in 2024.

Opinion: Aging Population, Declining Fertility Requires Long-Term Investments
Faced with the dire consequences of a one-two punch of aging populations and declining birthrates, one writer has suggestions for how policy can help ensure a better future.

The Tide Has Turned Against Open Streets
Once a promising development for advocates pushing for a less car-centric future in cities, the open streets movement has ceded significant ground to cars since the height of the pandemic.
Jacksonville To Replace Monorail With Autonomous Shuttles
The city’s aging monorail system will be repurposed as part of an expanded 10-mile shuttle system.

Richmond Weighing How to End Parking Requirements
A series of town hall meetings will allow the public a chance to give feedback about zoning changes in Richmond, Virginia that would include the end of parking requirements.

Key Warehouse Centers Challenge Distribution Center Expansion
Communities near major e-commerce distribution centers are increasingly resisting new construction, citing air pollution and other public health impacts.
Brick & Story
City of Mt Shasta
McKenna
Cohousing Association of the US
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Rail~Volution
Sun City Center Community Association, Inc
City of Mesa
Town of Gilbert, Arizona
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.