Washington

Dublin Skyline

Reading Cities Cover to Cover, and Why

Chuck Wolfe underscores the importance of a holistic view of urban places, referencing themes of common experience, aesthetics, feelings of happiness, safety, or security—a basic narrative of the city that often goes beyond first impressions.

February 11, 2015 - The Huffington Post

New Research Maps Transit Poverty

New research provides sorely needed tools for illustrating the neighborhoods that suffer a lack of transportation options to access jobs and opportunity.

February 7, 2015 - Next City

Seattle skyline

Seattle-Portland Rivalry Escalates Over Transit

Amid the constant battle between Seattle and Portland, Seattle-based writer Eric Scigliano responds to an Oregonian article praising Seattle's transit system. Praise is all right, writes Scigliano, but the Oregonian missed a few lowlights.

February 5, 2015 - Crosscut

Gas Tax vs. Carbon Charge Debate Looms in Washington State

The Republican chair of the Senate Transportation Committee is considering an 11.5-cent gas tax increase, setting up a potential conflict with Gov. Jay Inslee's preference to apply a carbon charge to industrial emissions to fund transportation.

February 4, 2015 - KUOW

High Tech Stores Provide New Leases on Life for High-End Malls

Big-name technology companies with retail stores, like Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla, have enabled many Class A malls to not just stay in business, but thrive. Record sales per square foot are flowing.

January 31, 2015 - The Wall Street Journal

Dam Removal Goes Mainstream

In 20 years, dam removal has gone from a "fringe notion" to "wide acceptance." National Geographic explains how and why this sea change occurred.

January 28, 2015 - National Geographic

Tent Cities Proposed for Homeless in Seattle

The mayor and City Council of Seattle will consider a controversial measure to combat its surging homeless population.

January 26, 2015 - ThinkProgress

State-Level Data Reveals Earlier Peak Driving than Previously Thought

With implications on the narrative of peak driving and on the economic forces that drive the country, a new study reveals that some statewide populations began driving less as early as 1992.

January 16, 2015 - The Washington Post - Wonkblog

Anatomy of a Failed Infrastructure Project: Columbia River Crossing

Bloomberg Businessweek examines the failed Columbia River Crossing project as a poster child for how political dysfunction is derailing critically needed infrastructure.

January 12, 2015 - Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Sound Transit Adopts Long Range Plan for Metropolitan Seattle

Earlier in December, Seattle's Sound Transit Board approved a Long Range Plan as a part of its final meeting of the year.

December 31, 2014 - The Urbanist

Seattle's Taxi Industry Fighting Back with New Apps, Licenses

After taking a 40-percent dive in revenue following the launch of transportation network companies (TNCs), Seattle's Taxi Industry has found new momentum.

December 29, 2014 - The Seattle Times

Can a 32-Acre Mixed-Use Development Block an Oil-By-Rail Facility in Time?

Environmentalists and developers are in a race against time to prevent a proposed oil-by-rail facility in Vancouver, Washington.

December 29, 2014 - New York Times

Seattle Tunnel Boring

How Seattle's 'Rose-tinted Fantasy' Threw Billions in Public Money Away

"Seattle is in the midst of a full-spectrum transportation fustercluck," writes David Roberts for Grist.

December 23, 2014 - Grist

Washington Governor Proposes Cap-and-Trade to Fund Highways

After a failed attempt to increase the fuel tax, itself a form of carbon tax on gas and diesel sales, Gov. Jay Inslee seeks to use revenue from carbon permits purchased by stationary sources in a new cap-and-trade program to pay for transportation.

December 21, 2014 - The Seattle Times

Study: 'It's hard to beat gasoline' on Air Quality

A University of Minnesota study published in PNAS looks at alternatives including ethanol and electricity and determined that "it's hard to beat gasoline." Even electric vehicles can do better or worse depending on how utilities source electricity.

December 17, 2014 - AP via ABC News

Massive Oil-By-Rail Facility Proposed for Port of Vancouver

A proposed oil-by-rail facility proposed for the Port of Vancouver could set a new standard for capacity.

November 26, 2014 - The Columbian

Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay

The Biggest Transportation Winner on the Nov. 4 Ballot

The ballot measure generating the most new transportation funds approved by voters this month was in Alameda County, Calif. Voters chose to double an existing sales tax to one percent and extend it to 2045, raising $7.8 billion over 30 years.

November 16, 2014 - Contra Costa Times

TransitScreen Provides Real Time Info in Downtown Seattle

A new service provides transit users live, real-time displays of all transportation options within proximity to various locations in downtown Seattle, Washington.

November 7, 2014 - Seattle Transit Blog

Campaign 2014 Results: Transportation, Energy, Conservation Measures

We've covered a wide variety of ballot measures that appeared on the Nov. 4, 2014 ballot. While the media has focused greatly on Congressional and gubernatorial outcomes, we'll look at the results of the state and local measures we've covered here.

November 6, 2014 - T4America Blog

Seattle's 'Subirdia' Allows Birds to Thrive

According to a book by John Marzluff, "Welcome to Subirdia: Sharing Our Neighborhoods with Wrens, Robins, Woodpeckers, and Other Wildlife," Seattle's greatest diversity of birds lives in its suburbs.

October 28, 2014 - 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.