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Environment & Sustainability

Street view of the white six-story Bullitt Center.

Ten Years Later, the Bullitt Center Still Sets the Standard for Green Office Buildings

"Those who assume that a net-zero building like the Bullitt Center is either too expensive to be profitable or requires cutting edge technology are...
Two Navy Blue Angels planes pass each other over boats tied to a log boom in Lake Washington.

Op-Ed: It’s Time for Seattle to Cancel the Blue Angels

The highly polluting airshow should be a relic of the past as we face the climate crisis. Dear Seattle, it’s time to be as brave...

Save the Trees, Build Urban Housing!

My journey to urbanism took a twisted path. I grew up in rural Kitsap County, studied forest ecology, and worked in the woods of...

Op-Ed: Save Luma the Giant Cedar from Redevelopment

Tree activists rally, seeking to save a giant red cedar in Wedgwood from the ax. Luma is a healthy old growth Western red cedar in...

How King County Manages Its Waste

A trip to Cedar Hills Regional Landfill shows garbage’s disappearing act is an illusion. There’s a great episode of 99 Percent Invisible that compares residential waste collection...

Pioneer Square Habitat Beach Opens, Hope Alive for More Public Space Next Door

This weekend, Seattle's Office of the Waterfront quietly opened a stretch of rocky beach in Pioneer Square, just south of Colman Dock. The small...
Green grass with seed fronds with barbs at the end.

The Urbanist Podcast: Grass Lawns and Foxtail’s Deadly Danger to Dogs

Summertime gets us thinking about a whole bunch of stuff, including grass. In cities across North America, grass yards are often a symbol of...
Dumptruck crossing the Duwamish River Highway overpass.

South Park Organizes To Tackle Highway Pollution

Often after Rosa Lopez picks up her son from school, they walk under a highway and half a mile to the South Park Community...