Category Archives: Land Use

The Good and the Bad of Driverless Cars for Cities

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Scott Bonjukian

The age of driverless cars is rapidly approaching, and no one seems to know what to do about it. The technology is picking up steam in the behemoth automotive industry while only a few states have regulations on the books … Continue reading →

Posted in Cars, Energy, Government, Land Use, Roads, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged adoption, automated, autonomous, AV, buses, cars, charge, cities, computers, congestion, costs, Driverless, efficiency, electric, emissions, energy, fee, Ford, fuel, funding, gas, Google, highways, lyft, motors, roads, safety, self, sensors, streets, Tesla, timeline, transit, transportation, trucks, urban, vehicles | 3 Comments

Event Notice: Seattle City Council Presentation on Freeway Lids Wednesday

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

On Wednesday, December 16 at 12pm a group of local designers will present to the Seattle City Council the case for additional freeway lids over Interstate 5 in Downtown. The event will be an informal “lunch and learn”, starting at … Continue reading →

Posted in Event Writeup, Government, Land Use, Public Participation, Transportation | Tagged city hall, cost, design, estimate, freeway, I-5, Interstate 5, lids, park, Pike-Pine, presentation, project, Seattle City Council, vision | Leave a comment

The Case for Lidding I-5 in Downtown Seattle

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

Amid Seattle’s rapidly growing inner neighborhoods remains the urban scar of Interstate 5, a massive concrete and steel ribbon that is the lasting legacy of 20th century transportation engineers. It helps move thousands of people and tons of freight every … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Buses, Cars, Editorial, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Parks, Public Participation, Public Space, Roads, Transportation, Walking | Tagged addition, article, cap, City Council, city planning, cost, Dallas, deck, downtown, e-mail, engineering, estimate, expansion, Facebook, finance, Freeway Park, Friends of Lidding I-5, group, I-5, idea, Interstate 5, Klyde Warren Park, legislature, lid, map, money, picture, plan, post, proposal, rendering, Scott Bonjukian, Seattle, structure, The Northwest Urbanist, thesis, traffic, transportation, update, urban design, urban planning, walking, Washington state, Washington State Convention Center, WSCC, WSDOT | 23 Comments

Seattle’s Draft Comprehensive Plan Takes on the Big Issues

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

By 2040 the Puget Sound region is expected to have a population of 5 million, up from 3.9 million today. Seattle expects to be at the center of this growth and is planning for 120,000 new residents in 70,000 housing units, along with … Continue reading →

Posted in Event Writeup, Housing, Land Use, Policy, Public Participation, Transportation | Tagged 2035, affordable, bike, bus, chapters, comp plan, comprehensive plan, document, DPD, draft, drive, elements, environmental impact, expansions, GMA, goals, Growth Management Act, HALA, housing, land use, light rail, LOS, open house, parking, Planning, policies, Seattle, transportation, urban design, urban enters, urban villages, version, vision, walk | Leave a comment

Efficiency, Equity Discussed at Forum on Seattle’s Transportation Congestion

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

On Thursday night the University of Washington hosted a lively panel discussion on Seattle’s infamous traffic woes. Organized by The Seattle Times, four experts on transportation debated various solutions for agonizing commutes and how emerging technology will change the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Event Writeup, Land Use, Policy, Transportation | Tagged audience, Bryan Mistele, event, forum, funding, I-5, Interstate 5, Jarrett Walker, King County, levy, LiveWire, Mark Hallenbeck, metro, Move Seattle, panel, Proposition 1, public, Scott Kubly, SDOT, seattle times, sound transit, taxes, Thanh Tan, transit, transportation, university of washington, uw, WSDOT | Leave a comment

How Seattle’s Mandatory Affordable Housing Program Will Work

Posted on October 6, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

The Seattle City Council is considering a mandatory affordable housing program linked to commercial developments. The program is no longer just a commercial “linkage fee” (otherwise known as an “impact fee” in Washington state), and now consists of two options: developers … Continue reading →

Posted in Commercial, Housing, Land Use, Policy, Residential | Tagged affordable, City Council, cost, fund, funding, HALA, housing, impact fee, linkage fee, mandatory, murray, options, policy, process, program, public, recommendation, schedule, Seattle, timeline, upzoning, zoning | 4 Comments

Seattle to Acquire Sisley Properties in Roosevelt

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

On Monday the Seattle City Council will vote on whether to acquire a one-fifth-acre property from Hugh Sisley, an infamous slumlord in the city’s Roosevelt neighborhood. The city has been doing battle with Sisley for years over code violations and … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Land Use, Parks, Public Space | Tagged 14th Avenue NE, affordable housing, condemn, demolition, Ed Murray, eminent domain, fees, fines, green street, light rail, litigation, park, Parks Department, Pete Holmes, properties, property, public housing, Roosevelt, Roosevelt High School, Sisley, Sisleys, street, urban village | Leave a comment

The Key HALA Recommendations for Seattle’s Affordable Housing Future

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

The Seattle City Council is considering recommendations to increase the city’s amount and variety of affordable housing options. Over the past year, the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda Advisory Committee (HALA) has been working to develop land use and housing … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Land Use, Parking, Policy, Residential, Transportation | Tagged affordability, City Council, committee, design, developer, goal, HALA, housing, income, mayor, murray, neighborhood, plan, policies, real estate, recommendations, rent, residential, Seattle, top, unit, wages | 1 Comment

CascadiaCast Episode 4: Patty Lent

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

On this episode of CascadiaCast I chat with Patty Lent, Bremerton Mayor and former Kitsap County Commissioner. Bremerton is the largest city in Kitsap County and home to the strategic Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Lent shared that she strongly believes … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Buses, CascadiaCast, Demographics, Government, Housing, Land Use, Parks, Policy, Schools, Transportation | Tagged candidate, City Council, district, district 4, Eastlake, funding, growth, interview, Michael Maddux, Olympia, parks, podcast, Seattle, state, transit, university district | Leave a comment

Mayor’s Housing Committee Proposes Modifying Seattle’s Single-Family Zoning

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Scott Bonjukian

On Tuesday afternoon the Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat broke the news (in an inflammatory manner) that Mayor Ed Murray’s committee on housing may recommend making changes to the city’s single-family zoning. If the idea lands on the committee’s final set of recommendations, … Continue reading →

Posted in Density, Housing, Land Use, Policy, Residential | Tagged accessory dwelling units, ADU, backyard cottages, capacity, changes, committee, comprehensive plan, cottages, DADU, Danny Westneat, department of planning and development, diversity, Ed Murray, HALA, Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, income, mayor, neighborhoods, proposal, recommendations, rowhomes, Seattle, Seattle 2035, single family, townhomes, variety, zoning | 2 Comments