[ Image: Darick Chamberlin ] Lewis Mumford ruined my life. I was once a highly-paid electrical engineer. But then I started reading too much, and kept seeing references to this mysterious Mumford dude. Then I happened upon a used copy of The Myth of the Machine and got my mind blown. The Myth of the […]
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has a very, very big brain. I’ve long appreciated his relentless voice of sanity in political and economic matters. In his latest column he moves outside his usual realm and totally nails it on urban density and car-dependence. Choice sentence: “Changing the geography of American metropolitan areas will be […]
[ Birdseye aerial looking north at Yesler Terrace ] It is no exaggeration to say that the redevelopment of Yesler Terrace will be one of the most significant development projects in Seattle in many decades. Yesler Terrace was built in 1939 on a 30-acre south-facing slope roughly bounded by Harborview Medical Center, I-5, Little Saigon, […]
Dear Liveable Seattle Movement People: Thank you for paying attention to what’s going on in our city. I agree with you that we need to be thoughtful about development and growth. At first blush, there would seem to be much we agree on regarding urban livability and sustainability. But after taking a close look at […]
Can you find six construction cranes in this view looking northwest from Pine and Boren? If you’re not an advanced cranespotter, here’s a hint: there’s one that’s not quite legible at this resolution just above the building rooftops at the far right of the photo. Bonus: Can you name each project? Olive8 is an easy […]
If a fountain gushes next to a roaring freeway and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? You’ll find the fountain shown above in the southernmost sliver of Freeway Park, tucked between 6th Ave, I-5, and the Seneca offramp. Why would anyone want to spend time here? Why would anyone […]
King County has released a draft of its SEPA Climate Change Ordinance for public comment. The money passage: “An action, as defined under the state environmental policy act, shall be deemed by King County to not have a significant, adverse impact on the environment with respect to greenhouse gas emissions and climate if the proponent […]
Long underutilized, but finally starting to see some more action. The above rendering shows the Landes Apartments, currently under construction at the corner of 8th and Marion. Designed by Baylis and NBBJ, developed by Harbor Properties, with 81 units, 3850 SF of retail, and 72 underground parking stalls. Just across the street on 8th Ave […]
I’m a bit surprised at myself for writing this. But this is actually more about defending the idea of the SLUT, more than the actual SLUT itself. I know there is considerable suspicion that surrounds anything connected to Vulcan and it’s perceived influence on city matters. But this maybe a step in the right direction, […]
[ “Do ya feel lucky, punk?” ] (This post is part of a series: see Chapters 1, 23, and 37) True story: A few days ago a neighbor of mine who’s a mother of four young children told someone who was driving too fast down her residential side street to slow down. In response, a […]
The redevelopment of the 10-acre Goodwill site at 1400 South Dearborn St. has been conditionally approved (h/t Central District News). Read all the gory details here (pdf). Most significantly, the developer’s request for a contract rezone from 65 to 85 feet was granted, with the key condition that 400 residential units be provided. This proposal […]
UPDATE: My apologies for the size of the pictures I posted yesterday. I’ve taken the sage advice of Josh and just posted them to Flickr. If any have interest in seeing them, let me know. Otherwise, treat this as a musing and go about your day. Apropos of Dan’s Vancouver envy, I thought I’d share the object of my own recently […]
[ What Are People For? cover illustration: Politics, Law, and Farming in Missouri by Thomas Hart Benson ] This collection of essays by Wendell Berry has the best book title ever. One of the essays is called “Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer.” But then, how does he blog? On April 28 […]
[ Dockside Green rendering: Busby, Perkins+Will ] In case you haven’t already, you can add Canada to the long list of countries that are actually building the type of large-scale, cutting edge green developments that we here in the U.S. seem only capable of talking about. Designed by Busby, Perkins+Will, Dockside Green, in Victoria, B.C. […]
[ Seattle in 1925 ] As the stakeholder committee gets into it, viaduct buzz is noticeably notching up. Local urban designer David Sucher, who has been relentlessly predicting a retrofit for years, recently reiterated his view here, but what caught my attention was his assertion that the government has been intentionally misleading the public — […]
This is the Opal Condominiums at 16th and Pike, just a few blocks south of the older two-story apartment in discussed in this post. It has some obvious similarities. Why, in this case, did the developer not go with a townhouse 4-pack? The Opal is three stories, with six units and underground parking (the parking […]
This is the open space in front of the Federal Courthouse at Stewart and 7th in downtown Seattle. It’s visually engaging. But is it a place that gets used much by people? It doesn’t look like there are enough good places to sit down, which, as William Whyte observed, is a major impediment to the […]
Sprawl and Density. This quip goes a long way towards summing up the gestalt of the Urban Land Institute’s Reality Check event, held April 30th on the UW Campus. See the Seattle Transit Blog for a detailed account of the event. ULI’s Ed McMahon made the above quip in his keynote address, and it was […]
[ Taylor 28 ] [ Borealis Apartments, complete with dedicated planter balconies. ] [ Rollins Street with Enso in the foreground ] [ Looking south on Westlake, the core of Touchstone’s 28-story office tower rising. ] [ Mirabella senior housing ]
