The newly completed $4 million overhaul of 4th Street in Bremerton has the opportunity to create a year-round central gathering space. But city leaders are on the fence about going all-in.

Against a backdrop of increased immigration enforcement nationwide, a new report from the University of Washington Center of Human Rights confirms ICE is still using state data to find targets in Washington.

A 7,800-square-foot site along E Yesler Way, which belonged to former House Speaker Frank Chopp, will become 20 units of social housing following a unanimous vote of the Seattle Social Housing Developer board Thursday night. It marks the developer's second overall residential project.

Compared to plans presented earlier this year laying out how the existing Route 7 would be converted into a RapidRide line, designs released this week only include two new stop pairs. That adjustment is unlikely to assuage concerns around decreasing access to transit in the Rainier Valley.

Washington's only non-profit appellate public defense law firm has historically been tasked with handling around 40% of public defense appeals. But without a new contract agreement, it could have to close its doors at the end of the year, throwing hundreds of active cases into jeopardy.

The Urbanist Elections Committee is thrilled to announce our 2026 general election endorsements. Be sure to vote by November 3.

For one Saturday, pedestrians took over The Ave in a demonstration of the demand for people-focused spaces in the heart of Seattle's densest neighborhoods. Building on an idea that has been around since 1955, the advocates who put on the event hope it can start a trend.

Between safety upgrades and proposed new bus route, one of Tacoma’s most dangerous roads may see a safer future. The changes are a long time in the making.

The new Connection Court program restores a non-carceral pathway that had been closed off by Erika Evans' predecessor. But King County public defenders are raising concerns about how the two programs are set to be implemented.

A ruling last month from a state hearings board is prompting additional work on the environmental review underpinning Seattle's twenty-year growth plan. While that update isn't set to change the plan's contents, any vote to update zoning remains on hold until it wraps up.

Pierce Transit's Prop 1 asks voters for a 0.3% sales tax increase to give local bus service a major boost. Tacoma transit advocate Cameron Johnson breaks down what the measure entails and what it could mean for transit riders across Pierce County.

Released as Sound Transit reaches 30% design on the future 3 Line, the new renderings show the full 3.9 mile line that will run between SoDo and Alaska Junction until connecting with the rest of the light rail network as soon as 2042.

Spending scenarios this week presented to the Bellevue City Council would put a potential 0.1% sales tax and new $20 car tab to use funding transportation investments. While the approach is framed as "balanced", business groups are pushing to maintain a focus on cars.

In a race that lost its clear urbanist standard-bearer, the two remaining candidates are honing their campaign pitches to urbanist voters in the 46th Legislative District. Incumbent Gerry Pollet is hoping urbanists see him as turning a new leaf after drawing flak earlier in his career.

Two newly released reports flagged issues with the Seattle’s real-time crime center, including unauthorized SDOT traffic cameras being streamed through the center, federal access to SDOT camera data, and a lack of safeguards for private cameras incorporated into SPD’s system.

While some Mukilteo residents would prefer to see their waterfront fully transformed into a park, this week a 6-1 vote opens the door to a broader array of uses. The move is seen as a first step toward creating a mixed-use district at the city's front door.

The Urbanist is hosting two events this month, including a October 13 social in Bothell. Plus, we want to help you put on your own social in your area!

King County would move $64 million out of a total $91.2 million cost for the R Line project to its upcoming budget, in a bid to accelerate bus upgrades along Rainier Avenue. Executive Zahilay has turned the R Line into one of his administration's central transit commitments.

Transit advocates are criticizing Sound Transit's process to solicit outside ideas to reduce Ballard Link costs and accelerate the timeline. The Request for Information process was poorly publicized, narrowly defined, and closes today.

With data showing high demand for curb space in both Alaska Junction and Upper Queen Anne, a curbside pricing program is intended to help businesses by increasing parking turnover. That message isn't necessarily going over well in either neighborhood.

Deciding to See: The View from Nathan's Bus, a collection of short stories, many of which were published at The Urbanist over the last decade, recently earned the distinction of being a finalist for the Washington State Book Awards.

Bellevue should reconsider plans to extend NE Spring Boulevard. An alternative bike and pedestrian trail would be much cheaper and complementary to the future BelRed park the boulevard would cut through.

Due to the location of water mains and sidewalk gaps, Seattle often heaps more fees on homebuilders in formerly redlined communities, echoing racial discrimination of the past.

Throngs of transit fans packed onto the station plaza near I-5 and NE 130th Street Wednesday to check out the new station, which had initially been scheduled to open in 2031. Criticized for a high price tag and bad adjacent land use, Pinehurst is a catalyst for future improvements.

A 10.7% bump in building permit fees comes just a year after an 18% increase. The hike is intended to maintain SDCI's staffing reserves, even as the department prepares to cut 34 positions. Despite some streamlining initiatives in progress, a light at the end of the tunnel isn't yet clear.

On October 6, Kirkland will be the first Eastside city to consider raising its minimum wage. Here's why Kirkland should take the leap.

The Office of Housing would lose out to Seattle Police Department in Katie Wilson’s budget proposal, but councilmembers want to go even further to divert housing funds to boost police and restore pet projects previously funded with one-time funds.

Pinehurst Station opened today as a new light rail stop between Northgate and South Shoreline. While a new crosstown bus and street upgrades preceded the station, neighborhood upzones are tied up in legal appeals, stunting housing and business growth in the vicinity.

Seattle earned the fourth-highest ranking in a new Oxford Economics 2026 Global Cities Index, trailing only New York, London and Paris. Here's how the Emerald City pulled off the feat.

Without major action, the Seattle Department of Transportation would have been looking at a $113 million deficit in its transportation fund by 2028, department leaders said Monday. Cuts that are already underway will impact road and bridge maintenance but not Vision Zero work.

Mayor Katie Wilson joined bestselling authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor to lay out an antidote to fascism at a book talk at Town Hall Seattle last week.

To avoid a state growth board hearing that could unravel Clyde Hill's Comprehensive Plan even further, City officials are advancing a plan to allow additional building rights in exchange for an on-site affordable unit or a hefty fee. The change is being prompted by a legal appeal by Futurewise.

The new Airo trains, which will be running on every trip on Amtrak Cascades by next spring, bring a bevy of new passenger features from upgraded seats to overhauled restrooms. The first trips are scheduled to start rolling out of King Street Station on September 30.

Ray Delahanty of CityNerd did a video on the 2 Line, now that the light rail corridor spans Lake Washington connecting Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond. Watch to see how the Eastside stations rank and hear some tidbits from our recent Town Hall Seattle event with Ray.

We're hosting a Pinehurst station area tour on September 30, the grand opening of the light rail stop.

Pierce County transit advocates are confident that this is the year they can overcome the history of voters not getting on board with adding bus service funding in the South Sound. If Prop 1 is successful, Pierce Transit plans to ramp up service by 49% in the coming years.

Community organizer Renee Staton recounts how Pinehurst Station went from a distant dream to reality delivered ahead of schedule due to more than a decade of advocacy.

Sound Transit is set to have Dow Constantine at the helm into 2030s after the agency approved a three-year contract extension with two additional one-year options on Thursday.

If approved in early November, Community Transit would take over Everett Transit operations on April 1, 2027, with the existing Everett Transit network as its service baseline. A 50% increase in bus service would follow, to be fully implemented by 2030.

Elevating the next light rail line through Downtown Seattle could save $10 billion, more than enough to close Sound Transit’s systemwide budget hole and get rail to Ballard much sooner. There’s just one problem: The agency has never officially studied the idea. It’s high time.

Seattle School Boardmember Joe Mizrahi makes the case against the three statewide initiatives put forward by MAGA hedge fund manager Brian Heywood that will starve government of resources and force school to discriminate against trans students.

After a new 0.1% sales tax for county roads was approved in June, County Executive Girmay Zahilay has proposed to fold the independent transportation benefit district fully into county government. But questions remain about whether the county council would be trading away oversight.

Last week, Mayor Katie Wilson introduced a multi-faceted plan to reduce gun violence in Seattle based on City auditor findings, including a larger role for the CARE Department. Councilmembers Maritza Rivera and Debora Juarez sharply criticized the plan.

Faced with a $175 million deficit, Mayor Katie Wilson chose to balance her 2027 budget primarily through cuts and streamlining City operations, but no new revenue. Police and homelessness response spending continued to grow amid other cuts.

The housing funds, proposed in King County Executive Girmay Zahilay's budget update, include nearly $15 million for affordable housing projects that were already in development, and another $5 million for a new tiny home village on county-owned land in the Central District.

In a recent interview, Mayor Katie Wilson told The Urbanist her administration has launched behind-the-scenes work to make city government run better and avoid perennial budget gap crises, including a new executive order.

Developers and tradespeople alike voiced support for a proposed temporary reduction in Mandatory Housing Affordability fees at a committee meeting Friday. The proposal seems to have broad support from Seattle councilmembers.

Former Governors Gary Locke and Christine Gregoire have sought to cut progressive policymakers off at the knees with criticisms about Democrats lacking budget discipline. But their own records show the cost of austerity cuts.

Park access is generally high in Seattle, but as the City plans for significant population growth under the Comprehensive Plan, we should ask a harder question: Is park space equitable, accessible, or equipped to serve kids and families who rely on it?

A contentious change giving SDOT more authority to change streets within Seattle's historic districts was approved Thursday on a 3-2 committee vote. Traffic safety advocates had been pushing for a way to elevate safety-related changes outside the normal approval process.