The Seattle City Council is considering allowing buildings of up to 150 ft. in parts of the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. Some say the scale is out of character; others say, not high enough!
The Downtown Seattle Association is pushing for greater heights, aiming for 180 ft., saying that the area needs a serious injection of population to boost its economic engine.
Meanwhile, preservationists fear that the density will cause neglect to the historic buildings in the neighborhood. Developers point to Portland's Pearl District as an example of a community that added density without destroying the historic character of the area:
"Preservationists agree that Pioneer Square needs more housing to bolster the struggling business district. One of its biggest draws, The Elliott Bay Book Company, departed last year for the trendier, and busier, Pike-Pine corridor.
But those charged with protecting the historic legacy worry that 18-story buildings would be out of scale with the 19th-century Romanesque facades that make up the historic district."
Read the full story: Pioneer Square: Historic character vs. height
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8-story tower is San Francisco's first project approved under new upzoning rules
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Boston Approves 700 ft Tall Buildings Downtown
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
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In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland
Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.
How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on
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MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court
The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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