How did a Seattle non-profit raise $27 million and reinvent one of the most notorious public housing complexes in the city?
Just a few years ago, some homeless people considered the Morrison Hotel, run by the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) to be more dangerous than living on the streets. "...after a crescendo of complaints from activists and social service providers, SHA turned the building over to the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), a veteran nonprofit organization that has long run a shelter in the building and which manages an array of buildings serving homeless individuals with the toughest problems, mainly chronic addiction and severe mental illness. DESC launched a $27 million renovation of the entire building, including the shelter, while residents continued to live there. It was paid for mostly with city, state, and federal funds." Today, few would recognized the new Morrison. How was the success achieved?
Read the full story: It's Morning at the Morrison
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
‘Going backwards:’ Baltimore mayor, students rally against state's transit funding plan
Maryland's proposed six-year plan provides no funding for Baltimore’s BMORE bus program and reduces its road maintenance funding.
Detroit to transform waterfront with $2.2 billion investment
Developers will convert about 18 acres of unused parking lot space into civic spaces.
Planned $2 billion courthouse in MA sparks tension with local government
Springfield owns an essential piece of the land developers intend to build on, and some city officials do not want to see the project come to fruition.
Californians can now transform balconies into power generators
Gov. Gavin Newsom has legalized plug-in solar technology, which allows residents to plug solar panels directly into their outlets
This 85-year-old ranch is Texas’ newest state park
The 650 acre ranch is one of the largest parcels of land along Lake Palestine.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello