Washington

Seattle

Super Commuters Increasing in Seattle

More and more people are driving farther and farther to get to work in the Seattle region.

December 18, 2018 - Puget Sound Regional Council

Water Treatment

San Diego Water Recycling Project Receives Critical EPA Loan

One of the nation's most ambitious attempts to recycle wastewater into potable water received a huge lift last month from the EPA with the receipt of a $164 million loan under the now-permanent Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.

December 15, 2018 - City of San Diego News Release

Climate CHange

Carbon Pricing Strategies Under Consideration in Seven States

Several states, and even the federal government, are considering adopting carbon pricing plans.

December 14, 2018 - InsideClimate News

Oil

Are Environmentalists Turning Away From Carbon Taxes?

Economics 101: It's difficult to reduce an activity if there's no price attached to it, so why are many environmentalists increasingly turning away from wanting to price carbon emissions?

December 11, 2018 - Politico

Queen Anne Hill Seattle

Seattle Needs More Housing Diversity and Less Single-Family Zoning

The city should look back to its past for lessons about creating more livable, affordable, and equitable neighborhoods, says a new report.

December 11, 2018 - The Urbanist

Portland Interchange

Interstate Highway Tolling Takes Major Step Forward in Pacific Northwest

The state that implemented the first gas tax and the first bike tax took a huge step on Thursday toward becoming the first, since 1956, to toll all lanes on an interstate highway by approving an application to the Federal Highway Administration.

December 9, 2018 - The Columbian

Washington

Suburbs Encouraging Accessory Dwelling Units

Renton, a suburb of Seattle dealing with skyrocketing housing prices like many of the communities in the region, is allowing new density in residential neighborhoods in the form of backyard cottages.

December 8, 2018 - Crosscut

Washington

Mapping the Pacific Northwest's Changing Population

The Oregonian has published a new interactive mapping feature that allows users to map demographic changes to the Census tract level through Oregon and Washington.

December 7, 2018 - The Oregonian

Seattle, Washington

Friday Eye Candy: Painting to Memorialize Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct

Finding beauty, and questions, in the concrete.

December 7, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Seattle

Judge Upholds Seattle's Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, Clears the Way for Upzoning

Since a city judge determined the legality of the long controversial Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, Seattle has been able to move forward with the plan to allow new density around the city.

December 6, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Brightline

Virgin Trains, Formerly Brightline, Planning Eight Expansion Corridors

November's bombshell news about the partnership between Virgin and Brightline has now yielded ambitious plans for private investment in intercity rail service.

December 6, 2018 - Atlanta Business Chronicle

Seattle Bus Rain

Substantial Changes for Move Seattle Plan

The reality of the Move Seattle is proving to be much less robust than the vision promised to voters who approved the $930 million levy in 2015.

December 4, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Suburban Seattle

Everett's New Downtown Plan

Digging into the city of Everett's recent overhaul of its zoning and development regulations in Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods.

December 3, 2018 - The Urbanist

D.C. Streetcar

Study Casts Doubt on Streetcars' Ability to Spur Development

Examining Portland and Seattle's much-talked-about systems, the authors highlight the importance of treating streetcars as a viable transport option, rather than just a means to stimulate development.

December 3, 2018 - The Washington Post

Seattle Public School

Neighborhood and School Integration Don't Always Go Hand in Hand, Study Finds

In cities across the U.S., the relationship between residential and school segregation isn’t always clear.

November 27, 2018 - Chalkbeat

University of Washington

What's Next After Carbon Pricing Initiative Fails Twice?

Carbon pricing proponents in the U.S. saw their second defeat in two years in the same state when Washington voters soundly defeated I-1631, a carbon fee that would fund emission reductions. Unlike I-732 in 2016, environmentalists were unified.

November 26, 2018 - Grist

Puget Sound

Big Wins for Urbanism in Cascadia

"Yes we actually did that."

November 25, 2018 - Sightline Institute

Crime Watch

Op-Ed: Seattle Should Do More About Crime in Business Districts

To combat a rash of incivility and outright criminal acts, three Business Improvement Area directors argue that Seattle needs to commit more law enforcement resources to business districts.

November 24, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Electric-Assist Bike

Lime Jumping Into the Car Sharing Business

Liume, which formerly rented bikes and electric scooters, plans to have 1,500 cars to rent on the streets of Seattle early in 2019.

November 21, 2018 - Bloomberg

Seattle Transit

Sound Transit's Lynwood Link Gets the Federal Funding it Was Waiting For

A great sigh of relief from transit planners in the Pacific Northwest (and probably the rest of the country as well).

November 21, 2018 - The Seattle Times

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.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.