Ray Dubicki
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.
A Coast Guard vertical clearance determination dealt a blow to elevated light rail options for Ballard Link, giving tunnel alternatives a boost -- not to mention superrich superyacht owners.
In order to accommodate the superyacht community, the United States Coast Guard has determined that fixed bridges crossing Seattle’s Ship Canal...
For most folks, their mental image of a city park is somewhat focused, and kinda Victorian. It’s an Olmsted designed rolling green of trees and meadows and trails cloistered apart from the hustle. It’s a place to jog or dog walk or watch the clouds go by. There may...
It’s April Fools' Day. We here at The Urbanist understand division of labor as vital for the creation of vibrant cities. And we know when to stay in our (protected bike) lane. So we’re sticking to the insightful news we do well and leaving the pranks to others.
But our...
A 60-day legislative session might seem like a ridiculously short period of time to get governing done for the eighth largest economy in the USA. After all, Sweden has a full-time legislature, and our GDP is higher than theirs. But who's counting anyway? Washingtonians insist on making life hard...
Seattle has a history of infuriating maps. For its relatively young age as an official municipality, the place has produced amazing blood-boiling cartography.
Some maps are infuriating because they illustrate the city’s history of brutal oppression. Like this beautiful work by the Burke Museum’s Waterlines Project illustrates the city’s lost...
As we emerge from pandemic and look towards returning to offices, a question starts to come up. “What’s for lunch?” A recent impromptu survey of several downtown Seattle restaurants suggests it’s very difficult to get out without forking over around $20 a person.
The overloaded half pastrami and soup at...
Covering development for a city like Seattle gives The Urbanist a unique view into the spots where development concentrates. Even so, it’s useful once in a while to step back and ask what this means for a neighborhood. When does a bunch of houses turn into a unique place?...
On Tuesday, the Seattle Seahawks announced a blockbuster trade sending champion quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. In exchange, Seattle receives three players who may be promptly forgotten, and pretty much every future Denver draft pick until 2050. The Seahawks appear to be in full rebuilding mode after...