This week we had the opportunity to host Governor Jay Inslee on The Urbanist podcast. It was good timing as we reached the midpoint of the state’s 100-day legislative session. Several of the bills the governor has championed, such as legalizing missing middle housing statewide and adding a climate element for cities planning under the Growth Management Act, are still in play.
Gov. Inslee was bullish about the prospect of ushering legislative priorities and a $4 billion housing bond across the finish line this session. In his own words, “go big to get home.” Updating the state’s land use priorities and funding a lot of housing is crucial since the next generation of Washingtonians will need homes to live in and a planet to live on.
Tune in for the governor’s statewide efforts to increase housing, and stick around for the good news about decarbonizing energy and increasing multimodal housing. We found the governor’s enthusiasm contagious and we hope you will too. There’s some important bridge discussions too.
Have something you’d like to discuss about the governor’s housing push or an opinion on what Washington State is (or isn’t) doing right to improve transportation and climate action? Reach out to us at podcast [at] theurbanist.org.
As always, you can find The Urbanist podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and other major platforms. And if you are enjoying the podcast, be sure to offer a “like” or “thumbs up” on your favorite platform. It’s a great way to spread the word to new listeners.
Natalie Bicknell Argerious (she/her) is a reporter and podcast host at The Urbanist. She previously served as managing editor. A passionate urban explorer since childhood, she loves learning how to make cities more inclusive, vibrant, and environmentally resilient. You can often find her wandering around Seattle's Central District and Capitol Hill with her dogs and cat. Email her at natalie [at] theurbanist [dot] org.
Ray Dubicki is a stay-at-home dad and parent-on-call for taking care of general school and neighborhood tasks around Ballard. This lets him see how urbanism works (or doesn’t) during the hours most people are locked in their office. He is an attorney and urbanist by training, with soup-to-nuts planning experience from code enforcement to university development to writing zoning ordinances. He enjoys using PowerPoint, but only because it’s no longer a weekly obligation.