Washington
The Importance of Street Names
In Seattle, the street names were settled a century ago. Naming alleys and other unnamed civic features is a way to reclaim urban spaces and enhance heritage. Kurt Cobain Way, anyone?
Community Gardens Sprout in Seattle
Activists in Seattle have created a community garden on empty land to help provide food for the city's needy.
Breathing Life Back into Seattle's Alleys
The City of Seattle is looking to revive some of its often forgotten and neglected urban spaces: alleys.
Transforming Seattle's Bell Street Into a Park
Seattle is reclaiming it's right of way to create a pedestrian street. Landscape architects SvR Design Co. and Hewitt presented two different concepts for the park, one that is "measured" and one that "meanders."
Sustainability Through Schools
Efforts to desegregate schools in the 1970s weakened neighborhood ties. Now, a return to school assignments based on where children live could make communities stronger.
DOT, HUD and EPA All Trumpet Smart Growth
Anthony Flint reports from the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, where the Feds all spoke about coordinating at the federal level to implement smart growth policies.
How Bill's Hotel Room Saved Some Trees
Bill Fulton was prepping for a panel on transferable development rights programs for last weekend's New Partners for Smart Growth conference in Seattle when he realized the hotel he was in was the beneficiary of just such a program.
Getting Fruits and Vegetables into the Convenience Store
A neighborhood development group in Seattle is working with convenience store owners to add healthier food choices to their inventories.
Big Brother is Watching You Ride the Bus
Electronic passes used to board transit systems in the Seattle region could offer a new eye for Big Brother. According to privacy rights activists, the data in the employer-provided passes can be monitored by employers without employees' knowledge.
Worst-Case Tsunami Scenario Mapped
The event of a huge earthquake off the Aleutian Islands could send a devastating tsunami towards the West coast of the U.S. Researchers have released maps of what a worst-case scenario might look like for coastal communities.
Life is a Two-Way Street
Vancouver, Washington's Main St. had languished for years, until city officials turned the street back to two-way traffic. Everyone was surprised at how much difference it made.
Seattle's Big Dig Controversy
Seattle's new mayor come January, Mike McGinn, a former Sierra Club activist, withdrew his campaign threat to veto the highway tunnel planned to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct.
Seattle Approves Backyard Cottages
The Seattle City Council has unanimously approved an ordinance that will allow owners of single family homes to construct additional cottage-like housing units on their property.
Cohousing Catches On
Cohousing, which is cooperatively-managed but independently-owned housing, is gaining popularity in the Northwest. A new cohousing project in Portland just opened its doors last weekend.
Reclaiming Alleyways
Office workers in Seattle's Pioneer Square area are claiming their network of alleyways as social spaces.
Condo Conundrum
Like many other cities, there are condos a-plenty in Seattle. Developers are trying almost anything to get them sold. But the majority remain empty, leaving developers scratching their heads about what to do.
Park(ing) Day 2009
Last Friday was Park(ing) Day 2009, a growing movement where city parking spaces are transformed into miniature parks as a comment on public space (and the lack thereof). Here's a glimpse into Seattle's version.
Seattle Suburb Has its Eyes on License Plates
In the Seattle suburb of Medina, security cameras are now capturing all vehicle driving into the city, and using license plate recognition software to check cars and drivers for criminal records.
Andrés Duany Calls For Revamping Public Process
Among other issues tackled by the noted New Urbanist during a recent speech, Duany said that the current form of public engagement is broken because it engages only the immediate neighbors.
Injecting Planning Issues into Seattle's Mayoral Race
Seattle is in the midst of a mayoral election, and while typical election issues are getting their own share of lip service from the candidates, land use is being overlooked.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
