(disclaimer: If you have a rant filter, now would be a good time to activate it.) In discussions of urban density, the point is almost invariably made that advocates have an obligation to prove to the masses that density can be livable, and that if they don’t do this then they can’t blame the public […]
As discussed here and here, because transit-oriented development (TOD) is such a key strategy for reducing car-dependence and greenhouse gas emissions, and because there has been such a massive public investment in Sound Transit light rail, it would be doubly irresponsible to allow zoning to impede high-density redevelopment in the station areas. And of all […]
…look in the mirror. All those scorn-reaping townhouses are simply a reflection of the state of our culture. There is no alien invasion involved here. Townhouses are financed, regulated, designed, built, bought, and lived in by members of our community. The trouble is, the community is broken. And no amount of building code updates or […]
As most Seattle urbanist geeks probably know by now, the City of Seattle recently unveiled proposed rezones for South Downtown area as part of an ongoing strategy to stimulate development in the “CenterCity.” This PI piece has a good zoning map. During the currently winding down development cycle, south downtown experienced surprisingly little development. So […]
I was home yesterday and so hit my tolerance limit for NPR pretty early on, but one clip on the repeating loop that caused me to involuntarily mutter more four letter words than does the average NPR news story was the report on how the Federal Cap and Trade bill died because the Democrats couldn’t […]
From the 24th and Marion mailing list regarding a proposed small bar at 25th and union that Erin Nestor and Rebecca Denk of the Bottleneck Lounge want to open: “There are a handful of neighbors that are very opposed to this project. They do not want a bar as their neighbor…..no matter what type.” I’m […]
Is that too harsh? Sorry, just being honest. Today I met with a DPD planner who specializes in green building, and we discussed the huge challenges we face with the built environment, and eventually the conversation got to the inevitable acknowledgement that we really don’t know how we’re ever going to achieve the greenhouse gas […]
How unfortunate that we all don’t have a stash of whatever it was that Charles Mudede was smoking when he wrote this Stranger piece on the new Four Seasons building on 1st Ave between Union and University. How fun it would be to look up at a stark, rectilinear glass and concrete tower that forms […]
We have spent the last half century designing our cities based on the premise that folks will live in single-use residential neighborhoods and drive their cars to go to work, school, shopping, etc. The result is that our cities, even those that were developed well before the automobile conquered the nation, are left with retail […]
The Garden of Remembrance, on the SW corner of Benaroya Hall at 2nd and University, is an urban plaza done right. All the key ingredients are there: lots of places to sit, sun and shade, privacy and exposure, beautiful plantings, water, a comfortable human scale, an elevated prospect from which to watch the action on […]
Not this: [ Aerial image map from Seattle Housing Authority Design Review Board submittal for 4626 M L King Jr Way S. ] The aerial image above looks down on the property immediately to the north of the “Columbia City” Light Rail Station at MLK Blvd. and S. Alaska St. The buildings marked 2, 3, […]
All you need to know: We’re number 6! That and — huh? — Honolulu is number 1? And hold on there, how could LA, ranked number 2, be better than us? The Brookings Institution just released a ranking of per capita carbon footprint for 100 major U.S. cities. Sure, this list will help raise awareness, […]
Yes, BMW Seattle is finally leaving The Hill. New digs are currently under construction just north of I-90 between Airport Way and 7th Ave S. No longer will BMW Seattle suffer the embarrassment of modest historic brick buildings in a compact urban fabric. The new HQ will have that airport concourse look and feel today’s […]
Those words are spraypainted across the concrete barriers in the photo above, taken at the Port Authority public waterfront access on the Duwamish just north of the cruise ship terminal. Today, millions of trinkets from China glide across these waters. This too shall pass.
How sexy is that? (Can’t we just not talk about getting old?) The baby boomers are a demographic bulldozer. As that big hump in the population vs. age graph slides across time it transmutes everything in its path. And at long last, it’s retirement accommodations that are getting a redo. “Life Care” and “Successful Aging” […]
As reported in this NY Times piece, vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) in the U.S. dropped 4.3 percent from March 2007 to March 2008, the largest month-on-month decline since record keeping began in 1942. The rising cost of gasoline is changing people’s behavior. And we’re only at $4/gallon. Among the impacts the authors list: “Big box […]
Please excuse my earnestness: Farmers markets are all good. They support local farmers, they provide high-quality, real food, they get neighbors out walking and meeting their neighbors — they build community in the truest sense of the word. Farmers markets are a wrench in the works of both the corporate food machine, and the corporate […]
