On July 6, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) launched their Legacy of Structural Racism Interactive Report. While this report is far from the first piece of literature to connect policies such as single-family zoning to structural racism, it provides a high-level overview and collection of resources on this history
We’re nearing the end of our Spring Subscriber Drive, and we need your help. Our editor and board treasurer Shaun Kuo explains why he subscribes and volunteers at The Urbanist: The work of advocates past has granted me the privilege to be born and raised in Seattle. Without civil
Whenever I write an article or series that charts the development of cities and neighborhoods in the Puget Sound, I always make an effort to walk to the vast majority if not all the development sites that I list to take pictures and check my data. This was no different
Update: On January 20th, 2023, the City of Kirkland announced that Google will not be proceeding with the sale of the Lee Johnson site and proposed development plan. The tech giant’s development concept is rapidly growing Kirkland’s most ambitious proposal To close out The Urbanist’s series on
Having covered developments in transforming Totem Lake as well as the Downtown and Rose Hill corridor, what remains to tally up in Kirkland are the developments in smaller nodes of density. Juanita, Finn Hill, and Lake View are among the neighborhoods with some capacity for denser development. These nodes of
After Totem Lake, a neighborhood that is experiencing a spree of significant growth, the next notable constellation of new commercial and residential development in Kirkland is occurring around NE 85th Street/Central Way. This corridor primarily consists of the city’s Downtown, which expands into the greater area known as
Yet designing for cars continues to be a problem in the city’s fastest growing neighborhood. When cataloging development in Kirkland, it’s evident where the City has focused much of its development capacity: Totem Lake, a neighborhood defined by its strip malls, car dealerships, car services, light industry, and
Often overshadowed by Bellevue and Redmond, not to mention Seattle, Kirkland doesn’t get the credit it deserves for the crafting of its lively downtown and growing Totem Lake neighborhood. Kirkland has also ended single-family zoning, though some land use quirks limit that change from full realization. These urban successes
Move aside pickleball, it’s time to give another rapidly growing sport in the Puget Sound the limelight. “Cricket has seen an exponential growth in our region,” longtime Bellevue resident Yatin Aras said during an interview with The Urbanist. “The number of cricket teams has grown from six when I
From a transit-oriented development perspective, in the nearly $3.7 billion East Link light rail extension, the most shameful station area, by far, is around South Bellevue Station (although there is plenty of competition). The potential of the station is choked by unmatched suburban sprawl. Large-lot single-family zoning, a multitude