Climate emergency: The city council in Vancouver, British Columbia has declared a ‘climate emergency’, which will free up city staff to come up proposals to address the problem.
Not welcome here: Kent passed an emergency zoning change to preempt a Sound Transit operations and maintenance facility from being located in the city’s Midway mixed-use district near future light rail stations.
Focus on safety: Research indicates that transit agencies need to focus on safety issues for women because those issues are holding them back from using transit.
Proposals on the Hill: More design details emerge about microhousing and hotel development proposals on Capitol Hill.
Free the transit: Paris will provide free transit and bikeshare to kids.
Forsaking Americans: Trump’s government shutdown is beginning to cause all manner of pain and chaos for cities across the country in providing services.
Nudge choices: CityLab explains what cities like Los Angeles may be getting wrong about transit.
King County climate action: A proposal in King County would put the breaks on any gas pipeline expansion and other major fossil fuel infrastructure.
Forsaking low-income individuals: Many low-income renters are facing eviction due to the Trump government shutdown.
PDX likes e-scooters: Portland has released a final report on e-scooters and hopes to bring them back in the spring.
Value feedback: Why do cities discount public input in expanding bikeshare systems?
Kshama running again: Councilmember Kshama Sawant is definitely running for reelection in District 3.
Not so fast: The Federal Railroad Administration will revise speed regulations for railways, but will it actually increase speeds ($)?
Danish eco gamble: Denmark wants to build eco-friendly urban islands in Copenhagen, but will that pay off from a resiliency standpoint?
Hogan’s MTA: Baltimore’s botched bus reboot is unsurprisingly having terrible ridership results.
Biking boom: With the SR-99 viaduct closed, biking has increased significantly overnight.
It’s a subsidy: Call a stadium subsidy whatever you want, but it’s still a subsidy.
Map of the Week: Portland’s TriMet has published a stylized system map that uses the same design approach as Washington, D.C.’s WMATA subway map.
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.