Washington

Over the past six years, the Seattle parks department has made great progress in sprucing up Denny Park, the city's oldest, giving new life to the "last stand of big trees amid the city's grit and gray."

October 9, 2012 - The Seattle Times

First rolled out last year to help crowdsource ideas for tenants for the renovation of a 4,250 sf building in Washington, D.C., the website Popularise is getting its first tryout outside the district at a new 13-story office building in Seattle.

September 24, 2012 - Seattle Met

Seattle is a city of grids (plural). Downtown, alone, contains three, making for some pretty interesting transportation challenges. Some argue it's simply part of what makes the city livable.

September 20, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

A deal was reached this week between Seattle's City Council and a local hedge-fund manager to build a basketball and hockey arena in the Sodo section of the city. But will the deal be enough to lure professional basketball back to the city?

September 13, 2012 - The Seattle Times

A mixed bag of land-use changes, including relaxed parking standards and an increased threshold for environmental review, were passed by the Seattle City Council this week. Critics complain the legislation favors developers over residents.

July 26, 2012 - The Seattle Times

Last week, landscape architect James Corner presented a transformative vision for remaking Seattle's waterfront after the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Lynn Thompson describes Corner's plan, and its accompanying funding challenges.

July 18, 2012 - The Seattle Times

Efforts to alleviate urban food deserts has focused on the proximity of healthy food choices as a correlating factor for obesity. However, a new study concludes that price, rather than proximity, has a stronger correlation to rates of obesity.

June 20, 2012 - The Washington Post

Roger Valdez gives his take on the new obstructionism that is dominating public participation and holding up much-needed growth in Seattle and elsewhere.

May 24, 2012 - Crosscut

Ariel Rosenstock delivers the details, and slick renderings, of Amazon's new 3 million square-foot downtown Seattle headquarters.

May 12, 2012 - The Architect's Newspaper Blog

On the sixty-year anniversary of the genesis of the country's first enclosed mall, Mark Hinshaw looks at America's foolish detour into shopping malls.

April 19, 2012 - Crosscut

Ariel Schwartz reports on an art project turning Seattle's trees an electric shade of blue in an effort to raise awareness of them.

April 12, 2012 - Fast Company Co.Exist

Although Seattle's downtown redevelopment may be receiving plaudits, Chuck Wolfe describes efforts underway to rethink land use regulations on a broader level in the city, with jobs in mind.

March 28, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Jon Talton reports on the recent upswing in development in downtown Seattle, as new jobs and residents signal a quick rebound from the Great Recession.

March 26, 2012 - The Seattle Times

The Emerald City puts the streetlight of the future to the test – for both safety and feel, and the results could affect how cities everywhere are illuminated in the future, reports William Yardley.

March 14, 2012 - New York Times

Mark Hinshaw calls an end to the use of the term "suburb" to describe the communities ringing Seattle, and the inferior connotations attached to it. It's a term that he thinks has outlived its usefulness.

March 6, 2012 - Crosscut

Jordan Royer weighs in on two major developments in the Emerald City, and why the one that flew under the radar should have taken center stage.

February 24, 2012 - Crosscut

Chuck Wolfe traces the comeback of sandwich board signage in cities, explains how associated regulations work, and offers reasons why such signage should be carefully fostered.

February 24, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Bob Bengford, AICP, MAKERS, examines the goals and benefits, notable challenges, and lessons learned in providing on-site open space for multifamily developments, including a comparison of how a few Washington cities regulate this type of open space.

February 22, 2012 - MRSC Planning Advisor

Robert Mellinger reports on efforts to build the nation's largest public food forest in the Beacon Hill neighborhood in Seattle.

February 21, 2012 - Crosscut

As Seattle considers ways to improve its waterfront, local architect and urban planner Mark Hinshaw evaluates a conflict brewing 1,250 miles to the south, for a lesson on what not to do with valuable downtown waterfront real estate.

February 15, 2012 - Crosscut