1974: Multifamily housing construction is the highest since 1974.
Not like the recession: Shelterforce discusses how the pandemic housing market is not like the Great Recession housing market.
People streets: The pandemic encouraged people-oriented streets, but will they stick around?
City Hall Park: Some business and county leaders say that a land swap of City Hall Park won’t fix long-standing problems.
Parking charges: Portland is thinking about an equity and climate surcharge on parking spaces.
Canadian transit: Like America, Canada struggles to build transit projects affordably.
Transit maps: Transit guru Jarrett Walker opines on why transit maps matter.
Community grants: Capitol Hill Seattle Blog highlights how Seattle neighborhood economic recovery grants will be used.
San Fran transit: In 2022, the Van Ness BRT and Central Subway projects will finally open in San Francisco.
SBUX unionization: Some Capitol Hill Starbucks employees want to unionize.
Highway ban: A California lawmaker wants to ban highway expansion projects in historically disadvantaged areas ($).
Education and enforcement: What role should driver education and enforcement play in road safety?
Mayor Wu: Boston’s mayor is making a push to stabilize rents and expand affordable housing ($).
Chain store comeback: Chain stores are making a slow comeback in New York City.
Accessing ridehails: California could make wheelchair access better on railhailing services.
Bikes and buses: An op-ed argues that bikes and buses should no longer be pushed aside in LA ($).
Single-staircase debate: What’s so good about single-staircase apartment buildings?
Texas domain: Texas’ bullet train project is in the line of fire over eminent domain.
Eyman defaults: Anti-transit warrior Tim Eyman has fallen into default, deepening his financial woes and responsibilities to the state ($).
Abolish state DOTs: Portland school officials are planning to move a middle school because Oregon’s transportation department is highway obsessed.
Atlanta Streetcar: Atlanta could be on the way to an expansion of the city’s streetcar line.
Colorado’s transpo priorities: Colorado’s transportation commission has adopted new rules that could push more investment in transit and active transportation.
Wayfinding: Pittsburgh wants to invest in more pedestrian wayfinding.
Texas DOT hearts cars: In Houston, community continues to slam Texas’ transportation department for ignoring racist impacts of its highway expansion plans.
The Downeaster: Maine has a good Amtrak passenger rail program, so what can other states learn from it?
Population trends: Population growth in the United States was anaemic in 2020 ($) while Washington’s growth rate decidedly decelerated ($). Nevertheless, fewer people moved away from cities during the pandemic.
No new roads: The federal government is trying to discourage states from building new highways.
Capital gains: What’s happening with Washington’s capital gains tax and what does it mean for taxpayers?
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.