Land Use

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson's administration is queuing up housing density increases within two blocks of all frequent transit corridors, planning director Rico Quirondongo revealed at a recent meeting of the Seattle Planning Commission, which pushed for the idea and greeted the plan warmly.

A Sightline Institute study quantified the impact of growing up, not sprawling out, estimating that the Seattle metro area’s slightly less-sprawling growth since 2000 was keeping 1 million tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere every year, compared with what Seattleites would have been emitting if they had sprawled like Dallas.

Adding a light rail stop next to Bellevue's decommissioned airport could unlock more than 100 acres for dense urban development, boosting the potential of the planned line to Issaquah. Like Bel-Red or the Spring District, Eastgate could be the next Bellevue neighborhood to transform with transit-oriented development.

Washington State is forcing Kitsap County to re-do its Comprehensive Plan for lack of low-income housing, ignoring wildfire risk, and neglecting safe streets requirements. The do-over is a chance to turn away from sprawl, writes Travis Merrigan.

In this video, Dave Amos of City Beautiful talks about a growing national movement of faith-based organizations that are seeking to put their landholdings to work for housing, known as Yes-In-God’s-Backyard (YIGBY), and the obstacles that the movement faces.

The $64 million sale of the hotly contested Talaris property in Laurelhurst surprised housing advocates who had long been fighting sprawl and pushing for a more forward-thinking urban vision. But with considerable roadblocks to redevelopment still in place, Talaris's future remains uncertain.

Road to Nowhere author Emily Lieb is speaking at Elliott Bay Books on November 20. Here's a sneak peek at her book, which covers the plight of the Rosemont neighborhood of West Baltimore, as it was victimized by grand highway schemes.

Four case studies show how Seattle's new middle housing zoning incentives align with demographic shifts to meet housing demand.