Washington

Affordable housing

Seattle to Use Surplus Public Land for Affordable Housing

New municipal and state laws have made it possible for Seattle to sell excess land to affordable housing developers at below-market rates, or even to give it away.

October 5, 2018 - Crosscut

 Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park

$900 Million to Builds Dozens of Wildlife Crossings Over I-90 in Washington

A massive project to build safe passages for wildlife over Interstate 90 in Washington State is a major win for environmental groups who have been advocating for the project for over a decade.

October 4, 2018 - Crosscut

Broadway Bike Lane

Bike Commutes at a Ten-Year Low in Seattle

Commute trips by bike are flat in Seattle, despite investments in high quality infrastructure. The city will have to do more for bikes to cut into the overall share of commute trips in the city of Seattle.

October 2, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Sound Transit Rendering

Tacoma's Growing Transit System

Tacoma is growing, so the city is expanding light rail and introducing bus rapid transit.

September 25, 2018 - The Urbanist

Alaskan Way Viaduct

Another, Final(?) Delay for Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement

The Washington Department of Transportation announced that Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct will close permanently in January 2019, with service switching over the tunnel Bertha built. The previous plan expected the switch to occur in the Fall.

September 19, 2018 - Associated Press via Tri City Herald

Pioneer Square, Seattle

Matching Urban Infill With Tree Infill

Seattle shows how new buildings and new trees can be added to a city simultaneously—in fact, neighborhoods adding new buildings are maintaining its urban tree canopy while static single-family neighborhoods are losing trees.

September 19, 2018 - Sightline Institute

Tech SHuttle

Private Shuttles Don't Slow Public Buses, Study Suggests

As more companies start to run private buses, some of which use public transit bus stops, the question of whether or not they're getting in the way has become more hotly contested.

September 15, 2018 - UW News

Columbia River Bridge

New Hope for the Abandoned I-5 Bridge Project Between Oregon and Washington

The mayor of Vancouver, Washington is leading a goodwill campaign in the hopes of launching work on a new bridge over the Columbia River, after Washington abandoned Oregon on the project in 2013.

September 13, 2018 - The Oregonian

Interstate Freeway System

I-405 Widening Ready to Launch Outside Seattle

A major road-widening project will begin construction next year. The project is a long time coming for a fast-growing region, but the final product will reflect a new approach to highway funding.

September 11, 2018 - The Seattle Times

Access Paratransit

Paratransit Service Needs Improvement

Following a scathing performance report by King County, in Washington, system officials are implementing an overhaul of the Access paratransit system.

September 10, 2018 - Crosscut

Transit Planning

Light Rail Extensions in the Works in Seattle

Seattle transit planners are working on a light rail extensions to West Seattle and Ballard, and trying to figure out which development alternatives are worth the cost.

September 8, 2018 - KUOW

Bus Stop and Bike Lane

Seattle's Residents Pick Funding for Streets, Park Projects

The "Your Voice Your Choice" program of participatory funding is in its second year in Seattle.

September 5, 2018 - The Urbanist

Gas Stations: Casualty of Seattle's Changing Zoning Priorities

The number of gas stations in the city of Seattle has declined significantly, but in surrounding King County, the number is climbing.

August 29, 2018 - The Stanger

Wildfire Season

Another Summer of Wildfires and Air Quality Emergencies

A third straight summer spent in a haze of smoke from nearby wildfires is taking a psychological toll on Seattle residents. A political response is also taking shape.

August 27, 2018 - CityLab

Bus Stop and Bike Lane

Transit Shelter Modernization Plan on the Shelf in Seattle

Transit advocates thought a public-private partnership to modernize transit shelters and enhance the public realm was a done deal.

August 24, 2018 - The Urbanist

Homeless Shelter

Modular Housing for the Homeless

The Seattle region will try to save costs and speed construction on three new pilot projects by using modular construction to house homeless.

August 23, 2018 - KUOW

King County Metro Transit

A New Daytime 'Bus Only' Lane Hits the Street in Seattle

New 'bus only' lanes on 3rd Avenue in Seattle are expected to save bus commuters a lot of time, and bus drivers a lot of headaches.

August 22, 2018 - The Urbanist

Portland Interchange

Portland's Regional Congestion Pricing Program Widens and Advances

It might be the nation's most significant but least known congestion pricing plan. The plan originally recommended tolling all lanes on segments of two interstates. Four more roads were just added to broaden the plan.

August 20, 2018 - KOIN6

Everett

Washington Voters to Decide on Carbon Tax in November

Initiative 1631 takes up where Gov. Jay Inslee's carbon tax legislation ended in March after failing to attract enough supporters. The new initiative differs from I- 732 which was rejected by 59 percent of voters two years ago.

August 20, 2018 - The Atlantic

Highway 520

Study: Ride-Hailing Companies Added 94 Million Vehicle Miles to Seattle's Roads in 2017

A first attempt at quantifying the travel of ride-hailing vehicles at the local level finds companies like Lyft and Uber with a massive footprint.

August 17, 2018 - The Seattle Times

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.

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.