Doug Trumm
Doug Trumm is publisher of The Urbanist. An Urbanist writer since 2015, he dreams of pedestrian streets, bus lanes, and a mass-timber building spree to end our housing crisis. He graduated from the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Washington in 2019. He lives in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood and loves to explore the city by foot and by bike.
The Seattle Department of Construction and Inspection (SDCI) is expected to release its permitting decision on the King County Children And Family Justice Center better known as the Seattle Youth Jail on December 22 right before most of the city retires for the holiday.
Opponents of the $210 million jail have...
There wasn't much that The Seattle Times got right in its editorial yesterday gloating over and hailing Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner's ruling against Councilmember Mike O'Brien's Backyard Cottage Law, apparently preserving for a little while the sanctity of single-family residential zones. Now editorials are not primary source news reporting, but...
Mayor Ed Murray announced $47 million in funding for affordable housing via the City's optional incentive zoning program and the housing levy at a 10:15am press conference yesterday outside the Capitol Hill Staion. On that very site, now a parking lot, Capitol Hill Housing will build 110 affordable units by 2019...
In a blow to the Housing Affordability & Livability Agenda (HALA), Hearing Examiner Sue Tanner issued a ruling that the City of Seattle must conduct an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before moving ahead with its proposed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) changes to single-family residential zones across the city. Drafting and finalizing...
Right before snow coated the Emerald City's streets on Thursday, more than a hundred housing advocates gathered at the Central Library to hear a panel titled "Building Affordability Through Community Ownership".
Councilmember Mike O'Brien and Puget Sound Sage Director Rebecca Saldaña (who was just appointed 37th Legislative District State Senator last night)...
When I criticized Sightline's framing of Seattle's Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program, a few people suggested I was providing "fodder to NIMBYs." I'm not sure my argument for bigger upzones to get a larger inclusionary requirement is the kind of cover the John Fox crowd is seeking.
We at The Urbanist...
Yesterday The Seattle Times ran a story titled "Seattle’s newest apartments: ‘prison cell’ with no door for toilet." It's easy to channel righteous anger at housing intended to serve folks making well below the median income in Seattle--which has climbed beyond $80,000 for Seattle households. They can't even close a door when they're pooping!...
This weekend I took a trip on the Empire Builder train to Leavenworth, Washington to see the Christmas lighting ceremony the Bavarian-themed town performs each day to adoring crowds from around the region. Riding Amtrak provided a fun alternative to braving the mountain pass in a car. The return...