Uber losses: Even the gig economy is shedding jobs amidst the pandemic ($).
Voyage delayed: Outlays for a new cruise ship terminal by the Port of Seattle have been put on hold to shore the budget ($).
Existing spaces: Many cities need more outdoor space for people during the pandemic and they may already have it if put to use.
Parking crater infill: About 1,100 mixed-income homes in San Francisco will open up on 17-acre parking lot near Balboa Park.
Seattle Central: What might Seattle Central College’s growth plan look like?
Sidewalk Labs balks: Google’s Sidewalk Labs is throwing in the towel for its smart cities program and development in Toronto’s Quayside District, dashing hopes for revitalization of the district.
Future of theater: What is the near-term future for Seattle’s stage theater scene? Masked actors and many empty seats seem likely.
Virginia is for transit: Virginia’s legislative session has made a lot of progress on transit, but the governor has sent back some items.
Stalled: Sound Transit has had to halt construction on a parking garage being built in Redmond ($) due to developing cracks that need shoring.
Blocking polluting competition: As part of a financing deal, the French government has ordered Air France to end competitive domestic service in the company on routes served by SNCF TGV high-speed rail.
JUMP folds: Ownership of JUMP’s bikeshare system is being transferred to Lime ($), which will mean that red JUMP bikes will leave Seattle streets for an unknown period of time.
Mental toll: In the late stages of the 1918 Spanish Flu, Seattle struggled with a suicide epidemic.
COVID-19 in WA: Several counties in Washington will move to Phase 2 of the state pandemic recovery process, but Governor Jay Inslee does have concerns about COVID-19 transmission rates, particularly in the Central Puget Sound.
Environmental terrorism: Trump is using the pandemic to further erode environmental protections.
Small blip: Zillow thinks that the epidemic could lead to a small price drop in housing costs.
Telecommuting tradeoffs: What are the transportation and environmental benefits and drawbacks of telecommuting?
Moderate financial hit: Early estimates suggest that Washington could be due for a $7 billion biennial budgetary hit from COVID-19 ($).
Europe is for bikes: The United Kingdom plans to spend £250 million to expand bike facilities and allow more e-bikes in the country as a means to reduce COVID-19 transmission and reduce driving rates.
Failed state of mind: Mass evictions in America seem inevitable on the horizon without national, state, and local actions to stop them.
Dining streets: Tampa has closed streets for outside restaurant dining.
Massive suffering ahead: COVID-19 cases and deaths are set to skyrocket through this month ($).
Sued: California is going after Uber and Lyft in court to validate that drivers are employees ($).
Not rock bottom: Unemployment numbers spurred on by the pandemic continue to worsen ($).
Owner-renter: Is the owner-renter model even a good alternative to just plain homeownership ($)?
Oligarchs oligarch: Corporations are engineering government bailouts without all the restrictions of government bailouts.
Trump’s humanitarian crisis: About a quarter of Washingtonians may soon need food assistance.
Carpocalypse next?: How bad could the post-COVID-19 carpocalypse be?
Suppressed outlook: Transit ridership will likely be suppressed for quite some time after the pandemic, so what should perhaps that offers boosters an opportunity to rethink the role of transit.
Map of the Week: See the best maps visualizing the tragic pandemic.
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.