Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is seeking to add a new football/soccer hybrid field for Lincoln High School in Lower Woodland Park, but has chosen a plan that prioritizes parking over accessibility and events, scrapping a recently rebuilt soccer field and historic trees to cram two fields into a footp
Seattle’s Summer Safety Plan and its earlier closing time for city parks is bad news for people who count on evening park access, including artistic communities. Crime data does not support the claim that most parks are trouble spots, but they are vital spaces for many communities.
Cities should overhaul their approach to plazas to create places where people can really belong and linger, argues urban researcher Jae Seong Cho, who points to the shortcomings of Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Plaza and Los Angeles’ Grand Park to illustrate his point.
Occidental Avenue is the first major “People Streets and Public Spaces” project to move forward under the new transportation levy. Potential improvements have been mostly shaped by conversations with downtown power players behind closed doors.
Today, John Feit’s Shoreline Street End series visits South Lake Union. In previous posts, he’s explored street end park spaces all over the city, often hidden gems.
The Union Bay Natual Area is 74 acres of public open space with miles of trails, but the University of Washington has rebuffed advocates pushing to remove a fence and add a trail to improve access. Here’s why they should reconsider.
CityNerd host Ray Delahanty recently visited Seattle and made a video with food blogger Kenji López-Alt while he was in town, focusing on what makes Pike Place Market great. Obviously, the pedestrianization of Pike Place came up, with the duo noting program has created more space for people walking
While the primary debate over the remade Seattle waterfront has focused on the size of Alaskan Way, a whole slate of potential public space improvements also ended up on the cutting room floor. Those include a festival pier, a pool barge, and a pedestrian street.
Is Everett’s plan to move the AquaSox from aging Funko Stadium to a brand new downtown stadium an economic jolt or a costly gamble? The City of Everett will be leading financing on the project projected to cost at least $82 million.
Two leaders lay out the case for approving King County Parks Levy, which is on the primary ballot this summer.
The 50,000 square feet of park space includes a turf lawn, restored fountain, seating space, and the true star of the show: a new playground featuring a 25-foot jellyfish climbing structure.
How the City of Tacoma uses planting strips along its streets tells a tale of haves and have-nots, and of our differing standards. The City has gone out of its way to exclude homeless people from this space with $163,000 worth of boulders.
As the city prepares to celebrate the grand opening of the full Seattle Waterfront revamp, the only planned direct connection between downtown and the waterfront is set to remain uncompleted. At the center of the issue is an antiquated traffic signal.
Former Seattle permitting director Nathan Torgelson will lead the new city department, intended to advance an ambitious plan for a new bike and pedestrian bridge over I-405. One of the largest capital projects in city history, it’s also intended to be a major placemaking project.
King County celebrated the opening of a new 2.2-mile segment of the Lake to Sound Trail in SeaTac earlier this month. When complete, the 16-mile non-motorized trail will stretch from the southern tip of Lake Washington in Renton to the shores of Puget Sound in Des Moines.
In May 17th grand depart, 138 people attempted a 700-mile mountain bike route from La Push to Tekoa, Washington, dubbed the Cross-Washington or XWA bikepacking race.
The kiosks, scattered around downtown and eventually other busy business districts, would provide ad revenue for groups like the Downtown Seattle Association. Last year, the Seattle Design Commission rejected the proposal as half-baked and suggested a smaller pilot instead.
For more than 20 years, Paragon has stood as a striking piece of public art along the Duwamish River. But the City of Seattle is moving forward with dismantling it, citing deterioration. Artist Don Fels details how things got to this point.
Best Side Cycling gets on-the-ground at Pike Place Market to explore recent access changes that urbanists around the region are celebrating, a big step toward making Seattle’s biggest tourist destination more people-centric.
With a major dog park set to be a transit-accessible amenity along the Sound Transit light rail network, the agency is on track to reconsider its current policy that bans dogs and cats that aren’t in containers.
Seattle’s waterfront bike path from Expedia Park to Myrtle Edwards Park is closed for renovations through August. A detour to the waterfront pedestrian path is offered, but people biking must yield to pedestrians. The pedestrian path will be closed for renovations after the bike path work is complet
Our map of cherry blossoms hotspots covers more than 44,000 flowering stone fruit trees across Seattle. Check it out to plan your flower tour.
The 1.2-mile bike lane restores a connection along the central waterfront that hasn’t existed in years, and is sure to turn into one of the city’s most highly-used bike facilities.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell teased a few urbanist-minded initiatives as he delivered his annual state of the city speech on Tuesday, putting support behind a push to pedestrianize Pike Place and launched a new “Northern Lights” vision to remake Aurora Avenue. Exactly when either change would occur r
On Tuesday, King County Executive Dow Constantine unveiled his $1.5 billion proposal to renew the King County Parks Levy, which expires at year’s end. The levy funds parks and regional trail expansions, educational programming at partner organizations, and operations and maintenance.
A $5.2 million project overhauling two blocks of Bell Street adds a protected bike lane and pedestrian upgrades, but stops short of full pedestrianization.
The Denny Regrade, completed between 1897 and 1930, changed the face of Seattle’s downtown forever. This video from Seattle’s municipal archives breaks down how it happened and why.
The idea of slowing drivers along one of the city’s most scenic waterfront routes had been seen as the compromise position, in the face of competing visions for Lake Washington Boulevard. But behind-the-scenes, the upgrades have been under attack.
City Beautiful reviews Seattle’s new Overlook Walk pedestrian bridge on the revamped waterfront and really likes what they saw.
Bike and scooter riders have been waiting a long time for the separated pathway along Downtown Seattle’s waterfront to open. The wait is set to continue for another few months.
John Feit’s street end tour visits four “incredible ready-to-visit spots on Union and Portage Bay.” These pocket parks make the most of spare public shoreline right of way.
A robust public transit network for Mount Rainier National Park could unlock trailheads and attractions to more visitors, while improving environmental sustainability. Rather than grousing about the park’s timed-entry system, let’s improve access for all.
Plans for a new connection between Wilburton and Downtown Bellevue are coming into view, as the City starts to look at how it can keep the project moving forward.
The privately funded project to upgrade pedestrian and bike facilities in Seattle’s north downtown waterfront has reached final design. Here’s what’s planned.
The new pedestrian connection, park, and gathering space all in one was envisioned as a key component of Seattle’s new waterfront since work started on the project over a decade ago.
Activating public spaces is a worthy goal, but it takes welcoming people in with placemaking and guardianship, not banishing those deemed undesirable.
In voting against the IKE digital advertising kiosks proposal, the Seattle Design Commission cited concerns about clutter and a lack of public buy-in. The Seattle City Council may ultimately approve the program even without that recommendation.
Renton wants to spur development around the planned Sound Transit bus rapid transit station in South Renton. But considerable hurdles stand in the way of creating a truly multimodal neighborhood in that location.
Traffic safety improvements including crosswalks and speed cushions are coming to Lake Washington Boulevard. But they stop short of the transformation many Seattle residents want to see in the corridor.
A year into announcing its ambitious Downtown Activation Plan, the Harrell Administration is touting successes. But so far those are primarily spot improvements, with many big initiatives in limbo or on hold.
A bike and pedestrian tunnel underneath 10th Avenue E has been restored after advocates fought a cost-costing move to drop it from highway lid plans in North Capitol Hill,
Offering a bold vision for Downtown Seattle that could include as many as 7,800 new homes, King County has released a full strategic plan for how it might redevelop its civic campus.
Sound Transit’s 2 Line stations in Redmond are not just commuting stops. There’s a lot for an adventurous urbanist to discover around the stations.
Seattle’s long anticipated bike path along a newly remade waterfront won’t open until this winter, even as other elements come online. The Overlook Walk is poised to open early this fall.
In 1873, Tacomans considered laying out their fledgling city according to a unique Frederick Law Olmsted plan. The city ultimately discarded most of the plan, walking away from a greener, more park-oriented Tacoma.
Since its April grand opening, the renovated Be’er Sheva Park features a new community stage, artworks, a restored shoreline, picnic tables, and benches, with a second phase of improvements in planning. The park hosts a weekly Chocolate Sunday celebration of Black culture.
After initially announcing an expanded schedule for Bicycle Weekends, Seattle Parks walked it back. Internal emails reveal why.
The newly transformed section of Beach Drive SW has turned walkers and rollers into priority users while still allowing vehicle access. Meanwhile, a coalition allied around parking concerns continues to plot a way to undo the safety project.
The opportunity to redevelop nearly five acres across from Lumen Field is pitting competing interests against each other. Some hope to see housing, but industrial stakeholders are pushing back.
Last week, King County celebrated the start of construction on a $37 million project to upgrade Bellevue’s Wilburton Trestle and create one of the most pivotal and scenic spans of the Eastrail. The Eastside walking and biking trail will ultimately stretch 42 miles between Renton and Woodinville.
Monuments can help cities tell their history and forge a culture. But to do a good job of it requires telling the whole story of the region, not just elites and colonizers. And the monuments need to be front and center.
BelRed combines a nascent South Lake Union, SoDo, and the International District. Spring District Station has a South Lake Union feel with tech offices emerging from a large light industrial presence. Both have some hidden gems.
Special shuttle services launch this week with the return of the Waterfront and Discover Park shuttles. Both shuttles will run at least through Labor Day weekend, with the Waterfront shuttle starting on Friday, May 24 and the Discovery Park shuttle starting on Saturday, May 25.
Melanie LaPlant Dressel Park opened on April 11 as a beautiful park far away from the rest of the city. An elevated, wide ribbon of concrete — the roaring I-705 freeway — separates the park from its users. Tacoma should remove this barrier.
King County’s popular Trailhead Direct weekend shuttle service between Seattle and Eastside hiking hotspots returns on May 25 with two separate routes to choose from. The last two seasons, the County offered just one route.
Following the successful implementation of a pandemic-prompted street patio in Columbia City, a group of community members formed Friends of Ferdinand Festival Street and are trying to find a way to make it permanent.
If you’re detraining at Downtown Bellevue Station and looking for entertainment and sustenance beyond malls and without burning a crater in your wallet at a high-end restaurant, this is the guide for you. Of course there’s a gem or two in the malls, but we’re going to
A UW student is seeking to spark a community conversation about finally pedestrianizing The Ave after decades of dreaming.
A long-vacant Target store is set to become home to around 1600 homes by the early 2040s under an agreement moving forward in Federal Way.
Whether the city should stay out of the business of making Pike Place Market’s main corridor more pedestrian friendly was put front and center this week by Councilmember Bob Kettle, who proposed an amendment seeking to starve the idea of funding.
Eleven “Street Ends” along the south shore of Salmon Bay and the Fremont Cut offer great recreational opportunities. SDOT and volunteers from Friends of Street Ends work to maintain and expand these mini parks.
A new aquarium and “Overlook Walk” to Pike Place Market headline a revamped Seattle Waterfront just one year away from its grand opening, all made possible by tearing down the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Large highway signs that prompted pushback from nearby residents when they were installed last year around SR 520 in Montlake are getting a second look. The state has $750,000 in tweaks planned that would scale back the size of new road signage.
The WOSCA site is a publicly owned five-acre scrap next to the south portal of the SR-99 tunnel, left over from that project. It will remain an undeveloped scrap for the time being with a temporary use during the 2026 World Cup and a permanent redevelopment envisioned thereafter. Mayor Harrell is se
State House leaders want to delay a freeway lid and multi-use trail in order to bring the overall SR 520 bridge replacement project under budget. Building those elements later would ultimately cost more and risk them being abandoned altogether.
Activate underused parks with soccer pitches and courts for basketball, pickleball, and tennis to bring people out and foster social cohesion. RAVE is building 26 community fields around the metro in time for the 2026 World Cup. But we shouldn’t stop there.
Ray Delahanty of CityNerd came home for the holidays and revisited Pike Place Market. In doing so, he highlighted what makes the market so great and authentic, and how it nearly avoided its demise. Delahanty, however, also documented the unbalanced use of Pike Place itself, which is brimming with pedestrians
Holiday merrymaking should involve more whimsy, less rigmarole, and less price gouging. Seattle still hasn’t cracked the code to create a true Christmas market that doesn’t feel as if it was designed by the Grinch: cordoned off from the rest of city, hard to reach, the vibes are
The move could be a jolt to a long-delayed plan for the decommissioned site, spreading infrastructure costs across more homes — if the bid succeeds. The saga of building affordable housing at Fort Lawton had been shaping up to be a never-ending tale, but today Mayor Bruce Harrell revealed a twist
The term “urban art” describes visual art forms that are created by and representative of city dwellers. While you may see pieces in galleries, urban art installations are primarily integrated into the landscape. They’re on buildings and street features. There’s increasing recognition of how vital urban art installations
All urban design and architecture is implemented with a particular goal in mind — often to shape people’s behavior in a particular direction. Hostile architecture, also known as unpleasant or exclusionary architecture, or defensive urban design, is a type of design which “uses elements of the built environment to guide
A 70% cost overrun is jeopardizing the Roanoke lid and the bike and pedestrian benefits it would bring. A megaproject that was set to transform the area around Seattle’s North Capitol Hill neighborhood with a new highway lid over State Route 520 has hit a major snag, with a
Seattle Parks and Recreation recently announced its intent to erase the Black Lives Memorial Garden in Cal Anderson Park, a move as cowardly as it is offensive, echoing a history of redlining and racial discrimination that persists in American institutions today. Cal Anderson Park, named for the first openly gay
Adding light rail, rebuilding Memorial Stadium, and keeping tenants happy through it all is the challenge before Seattle Center. Walking around in Seattle Center and the neighborhood surrounding it, you quickly realize that one of the city’s largest pedestrian-only spaces has a lot of untapped potential. One morning in
Seattle’s largest civic campus and most centrally located swath of public open space has a new leader, following city council’s unanimous approval for Marshall Foster to become the head of the City department that oversees the Seattle Center. Foster had been selected by a City search team after
The Seattle Waterfront is set to get a big makeover and the scope of those upgrades got larger thanks to a $45 million gift from a group of local philanthropists led by Melinda French Gates and Mackenzie Scott — two of the richest women on Earth. The infusion of cash has
The Kirkland City Council this week voted to hit pause on pursuing options that would convert a stretch of Park Lane in downtown Kirkland into a pedestrianized street closed to motor vehicles for at least part of the year. The unanimous vote Tuesday night came after the council had allocated
Councilmember Nelson abstained, citing cost worries On Tuesday, the Seattle City Council passed a resolution supporting the development of freeway lids in the city. Passage of Resolution 32100 marks an important moment in the growing movement to reconnect neighborhoods that have been divided by freeways in Seattle. It also arrives
Join us for a tour of the Mercer Slough Nature Park led by Trust for Public Land’s Mitsu Iwasaki this Saturday, August 5 at 9am. Together with the Urbanist, Iwasaki will lead a tour that highlights the story of Mercer Slough and discusses the importance of greenspaces and the
What’s the secret sauce in creating urban spaces and places that people love? Jason Slaughter of Not Just Bikes gets into that in his latest video.
Before opening her swim school in Seattle, Chandrika Francis worked with students at a New Orleans high school. They told her that when the levee failed and Hurricane Katrina flooded the city, they didn’t know how to interact with the water. “Hearing again and again all these stories of
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 parcel of waterfront, which has been sitting behind a fence for more than two years so that the plants could fully develop in the space,
The Seattle region is blessed with a wide array of spectacular parks and they are nearing their verdant peak right now as spring blossoming gives way to the full foliage of summer. Visiting any regional park at its seasonal peak is a good idea, but why not go for arguably
Mayor Bruce Harell announced Wednesday that one block of Pike Street, between First and Second Avenues, which has been rebuilt as part of the Seattle waterfront project as a curbless “shared street” intended to maintain through traffic, will remain closed to through vehicle traffic as a pilot while the city
A hot summer day in Seattle may be scorching in the Central District, a historically Black neighborhood, while North Capitol Hill, home to many affluent White residents, catches a reprieve. Land use patterns across the city vary significantly, resulting in unequal access to climate adaptive resources such as large trees
Street improvements are often long and drawn-out affairs. Pop-up projects can show otherwise. Urban projects can take a significant amount of time and financing to implement. However, due to increasing pressures such as climate change, population influxes, and a widespread desire to create walkable, bicycle-friendly neighborhoods, more rapid approaches are
Seattle officials welcomed residents and visitors back to City Hall Park in Pioneer Square Tuesday, nearly two years after the park closed indefinitely in August of 2021 due to a proliferation of homeless encampments. The grand reopening represents a high-profile milestone in Mayor Bruce Harrell’s quest to activate and
The Urbanist recently reported on Seattle snagging the 8th slot in the Trust for Public Land’s 2023 national ParkScore index. In this episode, Natalie Argerious speaks with the Trust for Public Land’s (TPL) Linda Hwang, Senior Director, Strategy and Innovation for the Land and People Lab, and Ronda
The governor was honored with an award from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. A shared enthusiasm for trail networks and the unique recreational opportunities the Olympic Peninsula offers set the tone for this year’s in-person board convening of the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) in Sequim. RTC is based in the other
Residents of cities with high ‘ParkScores’ report better physical and mental health, data shows. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has released its 12th annual ParkScore index, and once again Seattle has placed in the top 10, ranking number eight out of the 100 most populous U.S. cities. Thanks
The Urbanist is excited to announce our first tours of the season. The inaugural tour is 10am Saturday, May 27th with Lid I-5, a group dedicated to advocating for freeway lids over I-5 in Seattle in order to reduce the negative impacts of the car-choked freeway and create space for
What is the value of the row of trees that sit along your street? Cities in Washington are working to give those trees more importance in their planning considerations, centering urban forestry in their community strategies. With the housing crisis and mounting pressure of climate change, city governments are balancing
This coming Monday morning at 6 a.m., the City of Seattle will open a brand new four-lane roadway, connecting the city’s central waterfront with high-traffic streets north of Pike Place Market in Belltown. The new street, called Elliott Way, is years in the making. It sits on the
People seldom associate Copenhagen with urban strife, but before Superkilen was completed in 2012, Nørrebro was known as one of the most dangerous areas of Copenhagen. Gangs made up of people from different ethnicities and backgrounds would often clash there, giving the area the reputation of being unsafe and violent.
As different elements of Seattle’s waterfront overhaul are beginning to open to the public, Seattleites of all stripes naturally have many opinions about how things are turning out. Given the fact that most of the central pieces of the new waterfront, including the rebuilt Alaskan Way and the pedestrian
Today we get to talk about fourteen incredible ready-to-visit street ends beginning in West Seattle and ending in South Park, plus a lovely waterfront park owned by the Port of Seattle. In previous posts, we have looked at street ends around West Seattle, from Ballard to Fremont, then continuing from
A long-planned street revamp in downtown Seattle made headlines this month when a group of preservation advocates, many aligned with Pike Place Market, pushed back on the planned removal of two rows of cherry blossom trees across the street from the Market along Pike Street. The trees, which are nearing
On Saturday, the fences came down and the green space at the center of Ballard was reopened. Closed in December 2021 so the city could sweep a homeless encampment that persisted through the pandemic, the benches had been replaced, the skate bowl had been scrubbed, and the park had been
One of Seattle’s most heavily used bus stops is heading toward a badly needed upgrade soon thanks to coordination between King County Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). The southbound stop on 3rd Avenue S between S Washington Street and S Main Street, which currently features an
Most frequently used by high school sports participants, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation employees, and Seattle Opera goers, the northeast corner of Seattle Center is probably the quietest area of the 74-acre public campus. Most visitors to Seattle Center likely pass by without noticing the nondescript office building, set back