"Seattle is still a car town at heart," Danny Westneat writes, pointing to a number of gargantuan new parking garages like the 2,300-stall complex at Expedia's new headquarters.
Danny Westneat blasts Seattle firms and transportation planners for engaging in "doublespeak" when it comes to the city's ostensibly green, multi-modal image. "This two-step between quietly nodding to our car-focused reality while espousing the greenest dreams perfectly captures what passes for transportation planning in the Emerald City. We wish you wouldn't drive, the government announces. But we know you're gonna, the private market whispers in echo," he writes.
Take the massive new "airport-style parking complex" at Expedia's new waterfront headquarters. Despite building a garage "twice as big as what is touted as the largest garage in downtown Seattle — the six-story-deep, 1,200-spot garage beneath Pacific Place," the company has expressed the sentiment that it'll be happy if employees choose other ways to commute, despite a deficit of transit to the location.
There's a similar pattern, Westneat says, in how city officials talk about parking and traffic, which exceed supposed "saturation points" as commuters keep driving and developers keep building parking. "Sheepish wishes aside, green-talking Seattle is still a car town at heart."
FULL STORY: These mammoth new parking garages speak an inconvenient truth about green-talking Seattle
Seattle Planning Commission Urges Reimagining of the City’s Streets
In a set of recommendations submitted to the city, the commission calls for revised land use and transportation policies that reclaim public space from cars and shift focus away from vehicle throughput to more pedestrian-oriented uses.
Opinion: Housing Versus Trees Is a False Choice; Swap Pavement for Trees Instead
Seattle’s goal to cover 30 percent of the city with tree canopy by 2037 doesn’t need to be sacrificed in favor of density. There’s a better way.
Retrofitting Parking Garages to Create New Housing
Underused parking garages and lots offer an opportunity to alleviate the housing crisis by retrofitting them with temporary and permanent housing options.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.
New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico
An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.
Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes
Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.
Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels
Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.
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.
City of Moorpark
City of Tustin
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions