Washington

Bob Bengford, AICP, MAKERS, takes a look at how planned unit development (PUD) ordinances are working in several Northwest communities, the major issues and challenges, and whether PUD ordinances are even necessary.

November 23, 2012 - MRSC Planning Advisor

What might have been a business story about the failure of a local coffee chain - and not a small one at that - to compete against the mighty Starbucks becomes more of a description of what Seattle is all about, and urbanity plays a major role.

October 25, 2012 - The New York Times - U.S.

Seattle offers a compelling example of how the transfer of development rights (TDR) can provide a market-based means to kill two smart-growth birds with one stone, writes Claire Thompson.

October 23, 2012 - Grist

Does density cause higher housing prices? Can the private market supply low-income housing? What will it take to maintain housing affordability in successful, growing cities? Dan Bertolet seeks an answer to these questions in a piece for Citytank.

October 22, 2012 - Citytank

Sustainable real estate developer, A-P Hurd asks some fundamental questions about the on-street parking in her Seattle neighborhood and concludes that residents should be able to do more than park cars with the spots in front of their homes.

October 17, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

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