Category Archives: Land Use

The Case for Cities and Saving the World

The Urbanist, a new Seattle-based website, offers compelling reasons for channeling human activities and development into cities. I’d like to add to their argument: cities are how we’re going to save the world. As developing countries rapidly catch up with … Continue reading

Posted in Editorial, Government, Housing, Land Use, Resources, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let’s Bury I-5

Author’s Note: This post has been superseded by an updated proposal in another post, “Let’s Bury I-5: Redux”, dated July 5, 2014. Author’s Note 2: The latest and most detailed proposal is in a third post, “The Case for Lidding I-5 … Continue reading

Posted in Editorial, Government, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Public Space, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Plans, Plans, Plans: The Visions for Seattle’s Future

On Thursday night a crowd of hundreds gathered to share ideas for Seattle’s future. Co-hosted by the Seattle Art Museum and the city’s Department of Planning and Development, the evening kicked off the city’s comprehensive plan update process that will … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Government, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Parks, Public Space, Resources, Schools, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Residents Protest Lowrise Height Limits

A 2010 change to Seattle’s Lowrise 3 (LR3) zoning designation hasn’t sparked much public interest until now, when the economy has picked up and developers are taking advantage of increased height limits for new multi-family buildings. Residents in neighborhoods with … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Government, Housing, Land Use, Policy, Residential | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Parking-Free Development Making Appearances

In the postwar decades of the 20th century American cities stood by their carefully calculated minimum parking requirements, resulting in underutilized land and encouragement of car travel. Planners outside of the largest cities have started to reverse this trend by … Continue reading

Posted in Housing, Land Use, Parking, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Denny Substation Bringing Light to Growing Neighborhoods

With growing demand for power in the neighborhoods around South Lake Union, utility department Seattle City Light (SCL) is preparing to build a new electrical substation nearby. It won’t be like the city’s other 11 facilities with cold chain-link fences, … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Government, Land Use, Landscape, Parks, Public Art, Public Space, Sustainability, Uncategorized, Walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Emerald City Impressions: Explorations

Despite being here for only about seven weeks I’ve gotten the chance to see a fair amount of Seattle, and it’s quite amazing how many different neighborhoods there are and how quickly the urban landscape can change from one block … Continue reading

Posted in Editorial, Land Use, Megaprojects, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thinking Outside the (Big) Box

The U.S. is seeing a slow reversal of a half-century of migration to the suburbs, with people more interested in walkable communities closer to the core cities of metropolitan regions. With the Millennial generation also less interested in driving and … Continue reading

Posted in Editorial, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Mixed Use, Parks, Public Space, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

(re)Building Resilient Communities

As the impacts of climate change become more noticeable around the world, planners and politicians are taking steps to reinforce their cities against natural disasters. Though climate scientists stress that no single weather event can be attributed to climate change, … Continue reading

Posted in Climate, Government, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Policy, Residential, Resources, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Seattle Planners Release Marijuana Map

City planners today at the Seattle Department of Planning and Development released a preliminary map of areas where marijuana farms, processors, and stores may be located within city limits. According to the Seattle Times, the areas have not yet not … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Government, Industrial, Land Use, Parks, Policy, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments