hugeasscity

(ed. note:  Any resemblence, real or imagined, to the project discussed here is purely coincidental.)

Much of the heat in the debate over urban density arises from a lack of understanding of what the metrics correspond to in the real world.  Below is a series of slides presented at a public hearing on HB1490 by a colleague of mine from GGLO, that illustrates a wide range of densities, i.e, Density […]

In case you missed it, the final verdict on transit-oriented development is in: “Displacement Coalition says TOD bad for people, business & environment” So reads the headline for yet another ludicrous compilation of specious arguments from the ever-prolific Carolee Colter and John Fox of the Seattle Displacement Coalition.  Not satisfied only with fear-mongering through mendacious […]

[  Trader Joe’s addition at the corner of 17th and E Olive on Capitol Hill ] In recognition of the record number of comments provoked by this riff, allow me to present another example of new multifamily housing that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Could all that color be a horribly misguided attempt to […]

In the Guardian, via Planetizen: Unless there is timely action on climate change, California’s agricultural bounty could be reduced to a dust bowl and its cities disappear, Barack Obama’s energy secretary said yesterday. In blunt language, [Steven] Chu said Americans had yet to fully understand the urgency of dealing with climate change. “I don’t think […]

Sorry. There is now a hugeasscity facebook group.  It’s all my fault. How many of our anonymously nicknamed commenters will be willing to give up their anonymity? Oh, and one more thing:  Is facebook actually good for people?  Do any of us really need another excuse to spend one more second staring at an electronic […]

  Today over at Publicola: Leaders in Olympia, including Governor Chris Gegoire and Senate Majority Caucus Leader Sen. Ed Murray (D-43), have both said that the proposed one percent MVET increase that was expected to raise $120 million for transit along the Viaduct corridor—and was supposedly a key element of the waterfront tunnel plan—is not […]

HB 1747 and SB 5854, a.k.a. “Efficiency First” seems almost too good to be true. One of the four legislative priorities for 2009 chosen by the Environmental Priorities Coalition, the proposed bill addresses energy use in buildings, and would: Mandate ongoing building code updates that would require super-efficient, low-energy-use buildings Require energy-use performance scores and […]

Pike Place is the one street in the entire City of Seattle where the pedestrians do not cower in fear of the automobile.  Locals and tourists alike step off the curb and meander down the middle of the street among the crawling cars.   It’s near chaos but it works. I disagree with those who […]

As expected, the Seattle School Board rolled over last night and approved the District’s closure plan.  (Mary Bass, who voted against the closure plan and had proposed amendments to keep central cluster schools open, is my new hero.)  As I ranted about before, it is beyond belief that our wealthy, over-educated, politically progressive city continues to be […]

And you can include me among those whose deserve the punishment rendered above. Thank you sir, can I have another! Sweet Jesus, this is what Rhapsody Partners and Freiheit and Ho Architects have in mind to mark the gateway to Ballard on the northwest corner of 15th and Market (65mb design review pdf here).  A […]

The sea of asphalt, big box, and strip malls that sprawls northward from the historic downtown core of Burien is, in it’s own way, every bit as bleak as a dry lakebed in the Nevada desert, so the appearance of flame throwers synced with electronic music and 30-foot tall sculptures of scrap metal may not […]

Well, at least we decided, right?  Hooray, we’re Deciders! We’ve been debating the viaduct so long that deciding has become a glorious end in itself.  Wretched. What strikes me is how subdued the surface-option cartel has been about this so far.  Where’s the WTF?  Hey there Sightline, Worldchanging, Futurewise, Cascade Land Conservancy, Transportation Choices Coalition,  Seattle […]

[ Courtesy of Darick Chamberlin Design, an affiliate of Noisetank, Inc.]

In what may be destined to become known as the aborted grand finale of the oil economy’s final blow off, work has been halted on Dubai’s Nakheel Harbour & Tower, which was to be the tallest structure ever built by humans. Meanwhile, construction continues on Dubai Metro, a 46-mile light rail line system with 47 […]

Advocates for affordable housing provide a much needed service in a growing city like Seattle, and I have no doubt that John Fox — one of the City’s stalwarts — has the best of intentions. But as his latest rant (co-authored by Carolee Colter) sadly illustrates, his zealotry is once again eclipsing his reason. Futurewise […]

Get ready for the next chapter in the viaduct debate: City of Seattle, King County, and WA State officials will announce tomorrow that they support a deep bore tunnel. It’s magic! We can now afford a tunnel!

…near the northeast corner of Garfield High School, a memorial to Quincy Coleman, the 15-year-old boy murdered on Halloween 2008… …the 1901 Horace Mann School at 24th and Cherry, built in 1901 of old growth fir and cedar, back before we forgot that windows are a great source of free interior lighting, scheduled to be […]

[ Achtung: tediously brooding and self-absorbed blog post ahead. ] OK, so I read The Long Emergency and it’s been seriously messing with my fragile little head. It’s not like I never heard of peak oil before, but Kunstler makes the case like a sledge hammer. For me, it’s been that rare sort of book […]

These are the photovoltaic (PV) panels on top of Portland’s Casey Condominiums, the nation’s first residential building to achieve a LEED Platinum rating. It looks like a lot of PV, but it actually only expected to provide about 2.5% of the building’s total energy use. The 23 kW of panels cover roughly 2,300 square feet, […]