Seattle architect David Neiman writes about his city's attempt to find a new housing form that results in a denser city as appealing as the single family fabric that came before it, while managing all the cars.
"In Seattle, as in most of America, the most common form of home ownership is the single-family house. While personal preferences may vary, it’s fair to say that a fondness for this type of housing is baked into our cultural DNA. Seattle was built on single family homes as the basic unit of housing, but that model has run its course. Most of our new inventory is coming in a denser form – rowhouses and townhouses. The front lawn, the backyard, and the gabled roof are being replaced with front stoops, rooftop decks, and parapets."
Read the full story: Beautiful density: housing design for a more liveable city
Yet again, Seattle’s density zoning update is hit with delays
The city must now examine the ‘maximum possible development’ under a future zoning scenario, rather than the ‘maximum likely development.’
Seattle upzoning proposal seeks to boost density, support eco-friendly building materials
A city committee advanced the plan to target areas already open to multifamily development for additional density and encourage passive house and mass timber construction.
Seattle Density Increase Stymied by Underground Power Line Requirement
A new policy that requires buildings with four or more units to bury their electrical lines is making housing development more costly and causing months-long delays.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
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 Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority