Top planner: Mayor Ed Murray has revealed his nominee pick ($) to head the newly formed Office of Planning and Community Development.
Farewell: The beloved global starchitect Zaha Hadid has passed away, but her legacy will live on.
Brutal process: Mossback says that the University of Washington is flipping the City of Seattle the bird over historic preservation of the brutalist-era nuclear bunker on campus.
Inequality for some: The growth of concentrated poverty since the Great Recession in three infographics.
Walk, bike, dance: Don’t miss out on your chance to party on the new SR-520 bridge today; shuttles start at 10am.
Eye wide shut: Despite the fact that urban highways just lead to worse traffic, poor health outcomes and air quality, and questionable economic value, cities across the country are doubling down on building new ones and expanding others.
For the people: Two pedestrian projects in Capitol Hill could see some forward movement, one a raised intersection and the other with elaborate, artistic crosswalk designs.
Digital equity: Seattle is teaming up with Google for free internet access at public facilities across the city.
Safety first: Northeast Seattle is slated to get safety improvements on a stretch of Banner Way NE and NE 75th St.
Tall and glassy: The latest iteration of Martin Selig’s Belltown tower plans.
Long way to go: Seattle Subway pens five ways that the Sound Transit 3 package could be improved so that Seattleites back it.
No deal: A family dispute ensues over the sale of the Midtown Center property at 23rd Ave and Union St.
Parking Madness: Beating out Montréal, Federal Way went head-to-head with Washington, D.C. this week in Streetblog‘s annual Parking Madness. Good news? Federal Way made it to the semi-finals against Dallas.
Small biz: Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant held a “small business summit” to hear and address issues that small businesses are experiencing.
Regressive policy: Getting food stamps in Washington just got a lot harder, and as many as 15,000 were booted from the food assistance program.
Map(s) of the Week: How states rank when it comes to the amount of affordable housing — it’s scary. But perhaps even more frightening is the sorry state of America’s bridges.
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.