Category Archives: Landscape

A Planner’s Visit to Vancouver

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

After growing up and living the Pacific Northwest for many years I finally had an opportunity to visit Vancouver, British Columbia last weekend. Along with Seattle and Portland, it is an important hub of the Cascadia region and I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Editorial, Housing, Land Use, Parks, Public Space, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged Amtrak, Burnaby, bus, Canada, Cascadia, complete streets, Gastown, Granville Island, light rail, mixed-use, Pacific Northwest, Seattle, Simon Fraser University, Stanley Park, transit, trip, University of British Columbia, urban, urbanism, Vancouver | 5 Comments

Let’s Bury I-5: Redux

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

Author’s Note: The latest and most detailed proposal is in a third post, “The Case for Lidding I-5 in Downtown Seattle”, dated December 4, 2015. Earlier this year I proposed capping Interstate 5 in downtown Seattle. The original idea was radical, … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Parks, Public Space, Schools, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged Bury I-5, cap, Capitol Hill, construction, convention center, Dallas, deck, downtown, engineering, First Hill, Freeway Park, I-5, Interstate 5, Klyde Warren Park, lid, Mercer Island, neighborhoods, Northwest Urbanist, park, proposal, redux, revision, school, Seattle, update, urban design, water | 27 Comments

Atlanta Conference Recap

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

In April I had the good fortune to attend the 2014 National APA (American Planning Association) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia with 5,000 fellow planners. Session topics ranged from autonomous cars and the Millennials to citizen participation and affordable housing. I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate, Demographics, Editorial, Event Writeup, Government, Housing, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Policy, Public Space, Resources, Sustainability, Transportation | Tagged 2014, APA, Atlanta, Boston, cap parks, climate change, complete streets, conference, creative class, cycle tracks, Dallas, downtown, freeways, freight, infrastructure, lid, millenials, mixed use, national, natural disasters, Philadelphia, resiliency, Seattle, sustainability, transit, transit oriented development, transportation, urban design | 1 Comment

Lessons from the Oso Landslide

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

On March 22nd, a forested hillside northeast of Seattle broke away and sent a mile of mud towards the rural community of Oso. The results were utterly devastating. 41 are confirmed dead and two remain missing, 49 homes were completely … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Land Use, Landscape | Tagged 2014, Arlington, buy out, critical areas, Darrington, deaths, emergency, first responders, geology, government, hazard, homes, injuries, landslide, mud, mudslide, natural disaster, oso, Planning, slope, Snohomish County, Stillaguamish River, Washington, water | 1 Comment

The Vision for Seattle’s Waterfront

Posted on March 5, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

On Tuesday night Friends of Waterfront Seattle hosted an event with landscape architect James Corner, of High Line and Fresh Kills fame, on the continuing redesign of Seattle’s downtown waterfront. With replacement of the viaduct at a standstill and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Biking, Buses, Ferries, Government, Land Use, Landscape, Megaprojects, Parking, Parks, Public Art, Public Space, Rail, Roads, Sustainability, Transportation, Walking | Tagged Alaskan Way, Bertha, Colman Dock, construction, cycle track, downtown, Elliot Bay, features, Field Operations, Friends of Waterfront Seattle, funding, gondola, High Line, Highway 99, James Corner, landscape, park, pedestrian, Pike Place, Pike-Pine, redesign, replacement, revitalize, Seattle, Seattle Aquarium, seawall, shoreline, streetcar, transit, tunnel, urban, viaduct, waterfront, Waterfront Seattle, Waterfront Streetcar, WSDOT | 6 Comments

Let’s Bury I-5

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

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 bicycling, bore, buildings, bury, cars, concrete, construction, cost, cover, Dallas, department of transportation, Eisenhower, engineering, freeway, highway, Hudson Yards, I-5, Interstate 5, land, land value, lid, megaproject, Millenium Park, neighborhoods, noise, park, paths, pollution, project, proposal, reconnect, Seattle, soil, tunnel, urban design, vegetation, walking, Washington | 31 Comments

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

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Scott Bonjukian

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 comprehensive plan, department of planning and development, DPD, Olympic Sculpture Park, Pecha Kucha, presentation, public participation, SAM, Seattle, Seattle 2035, Seattle Art Museum, update | 10 Comments

Denny Substation Bringing Light to Growing Neighborhoods

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Scott Bonjukian

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 architects, architecture, Capitol Hill, Denny Substation Project, Denny Way, electrical substation, electricity, infrastructure, NBBJ, pedestrian, power, public, public art, Seattle City Light, Seattle Design Commission, South Lake Union, urban design, utilities | 4 Comments

Thinking Outside the (Big) Box

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Scott Bonjukian

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 green spaces, mall conversion, parking, solar panels, suburban redevelopment, thinking outside the big box | 6 Comments

(re)Building Resilient Communities

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Scott Bonjukian

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 3C competition, barriers, beach, billions, buyout, climate change, coastal, defense, dunes, FEMA, flood zone, flooding, fortification, global warming, Hurricane Sandy, hurricanes, infrastructure, New York, ORLI, refugees, resilency, Sandy, sea level rise, seawalls, superstorm, winds | 6 Comments