In this episode of The Urbanist Podcast, our newsroom discusses what the crosslake 2 Line opening will means for the region, what removing Claudia Balducci as System Expansion Committee Chair means for Sound Transit, and what the region is doing to address a constitutional crisis created by Trump’s
In this podcast, The Urbanist newsroom previews Washington’s state legislative session and breaks down the huge setback dealt to the I-5 Interstate Bridge Replacement project, a highway boondoggle with a ballooning budget. Plus, Amy and Doug recounted their first interview with Seattle Mayor Katie W
Ryan Packer, Amy Sundberg, and Doug Trumm kick off the new year by breaking down Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s inauguration and Washington Governor Bob Ferguson’s budget proposal, which included deep cuts to public education, while also queuing up a millionaires income tax for 2029.
Ryan Packer, Amy Sundberg, and Doug Trumm discuss the Federal Way Link light rail opening in early December, Katie Wilson’s transition team and early hires, and the Seattle City Council’s vote to approve a controversial labor contract with the Seattle Police Officers Guild.
The Urbanist Podcast is back after a hiatus, just in time to break down 2025 election results. In this episode, Urbanist publisher Doug Trumm and reporter Amy Sundberg discuss what happened in Seattle, with progressive mayoral challenger Katie Wilson’s dramatic victory, and other interesting races a
Want a deep dive on the latest in Seattle housing policy? The Urbanist has you covered. Check out this recording and transcript of our April housing panel with experts.
The Urbanist’s contributing editor Ryan Packer and reporter Amy Sundberg appeared on back-to-back episodes of the Hacks and Wonks podcast this week. Be sure to give it a listen for a riveting conversation tackling the biggest issues facing the region. Hacks and Wonks host Crystal Fincher (who is a
Ryan Packer broke down local “Vision Zero” traffic safety campaigns on a recent episode of the Hacks and Wonks podcast.
The Urbanist’s Senior Advisor Rian Watt discussed primary election results and the latest happenings at Seattle City Hall on a August 9 episode of Crystal Fincher’s Hacks and Wonks podcast. Fincher is a political consultant who also serves on The Urbanist’s board. Watt and Fincher covered the
The Urbanist’s Publisher Doug Trumm was recently on Crystal Fincher’s Hacks and Wonks podcast to discuss the Seattle transportation levy proposal, which came in well short of where safe streets advocates were pushing the mayor to go. The episode is a good primer on the levy debate.
The Urbanist’s Executive Director Rian Watt appeared on Crystal Fincher’s Hacks and Wonks podcast on April 9 to talk about the housing crisis. He offered three fixes for the Seattle Comprehensive Plan.
It’s time to vote for Seattle City Council, a housing levy, and elected positions all over King County. The Urbanist has published its general election endorsements. Get out your ballots, mark them, and make sure they’re returned by November 7. In this episode, co-hosts Natalie Argerious and Ray
The Urbanist Podcast is on summer break so we thought we’d share with you a guest podcast on a topic near and dear to hearts of many urbanists and bike advocates. On Resources Radio‘s From Rails to Trails, Peter Harnik discusses how nonprofits, local stakeholders, and policymakers convert
Primary election ballots are arriving in the mail and due by August 1st. In the run up The Urbanist Elections Committee has been hard at work prepping endorsements for what is shaping up to be an exciting (and consequential) primary election. In this podcast episode, host and reporter Ray Dubicki
Summer is (finally) here for families with kids in Seattle Public Schools! In this episode, hosts Ray Dubicki and Natalie Argerious reflect on how we got to this late start to summer and look forward to what’s ahead. A great companion piece to this episode is Ray’s recent
Summertime gets us thinking about a whole bunch of stuff, including grass. In cities across North America, grass yards are often a symbol of wealth and success and in many areas they have a cult status. But what are some of the pros and cons of covering land in a
Cascadia is uniquely set up as a region that would support high-speed rail. Between the linear arrangement of Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC, and the just-over-100-mile distance between each one, the super region could be tied together by a fast rail line. It’s an idea being pushed by a
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
Last week, we published an oral history of Washington State’s missing middle housing bill. Creating this episode involved interviewing several of the lawmakers and advocates, like Representative Jessica Bateman (D- Olympia) and Bryce Yadon, lobbyist for Futurewise, who were involved in the legislation’s path to success. There were
In this year’s legislative session, the Washington State Legislature passed extensive housing reform. House Bill 1110 compelled many cities in Washington to open up single-housing residential zones to long-banned duplexes, cottage courts, and small apartments. Such middle housing has been missing from the calculation for years, and it’s
In this episode, civil engineer and Urbanist contributing writer Donna Breske discusses her experience with the frustrating hurdles posed by the permitting process in Seattle with podcast host Ray Dubicki. Breske works on the kind of urban infill projects that the City of Seattle purports to want to see built,
Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm was our guest for The Urbanist’s monthly talk series in May. Timm took the reins in September after coming out on top in a national CEO search to replace Peter Rogoff. She left her post as CEO of Greater Richmond Transit Company in Virginia
We get a lot of news-ish emails about ranking cities in lists. Whether it’s the best cities for strange hats or the metros that one can find the most left-handed plumbers, there’s a list for everything. The proliferation of lists begs the question of their quality. Who is
This week Ray Dubicki and I chat about the policy changes that have been proposed for Seattle’s industrial zones. These policies have been in the works for a long time and are finally coming up for consideration by the Seattle City Council in May and June. While we may
In this week’s episode, podcast host Ray Dubicki discusses the Heroes and Zeroes of the recent state legislative session with Urbanist Executive Director Doug Trumm. Heroes and Zeroes is a standing tradition at The Urbanist, and this year’s session concluded on some high notes as missing middle housing
Sometimes we feel a modicum of shame that we’re not reading enough books. As the pile on the nightstand gets taller, the guilt grows. There’s absolutely no reason for that to be the case. Many of us spend all day, every day reading something. Literally, you’re reading
Every one knows there are two things you can’t escape in life, death and taxes. While I’d add a few more items to that list, it seems that with Washington State having such an, ahem, unique tax system, the time had come for us to tackle the topic
Thank you for contacting The Urbanist Podcast. It is Spring Break, so co-hosts Ray Dubicki and Natalie Argerious are out of the office this week. Please enjoy a couple of unaired clips and updates from earlier stores we covered. We assure you that tiki shirts are being worn. https://www.
In this episode, co-hosts Natalie Argerious and Ray Dubicki welcome Ron Davis to talk about a proposed JumpStart Tax Holiday in the city of Seattle. Ron last joined the pod to talk about how the city’s comprehensive planning was lacking a level of seriousness. There is a tax holiday
It is simultaneously exciting and trying times for transit in Seattle. Over the next few years, dozens of new stops will open in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Federal Way. At the same time, future extensions are facing dual headwinds of being overly complex and lightly understood, even by elected officials tasked
It is spring of 8th Grade in the Dubicki household, so we have been investigating options on where to attend high schools. Seattle Public Schools offers schools in a home attendance area as well as option schools, allowing families to choose whether a school outside the neighborhood is a better
In this week’s episode, co-hosts Natalie Argerious and Ray Dubicki are joined by conservation educators Hanae Bettencourt, Josh Morris, and Kate Lanier from Seattle Audubon. We get to talk about birds! The good news: it’s fun to get into birding and Seattle’s a great place to do
This week we had the opportunity to host Governor Jay Inslee on The Urbanist podcast. It was good timing as we reached the midpoint of the state’s 100-day legislative session. Several of the bills the governor has championed, such as legalizing missing middle housing statewide and adding a climate
Nathan Vass has been sharing his observations as a bus driver with The Urbanist for nine years. From the first conversation chronicles and desaturated photos, he has been building an honest and nuanced portrait of a living Seattle. There’s no Instagram filters here, and that’s fine. Not because
Vote For Social Housing on February 14. In an effort to compete with the Super Bowl and Valentines Day, Seattle has decided to have an election. On the ballot is social housing, specifically creating a new housing authority that will develop and own green, public, and perpetually affordable homes and
![The Urbanist Podcast: An Automation Discussion [Not] Brought 2 U by Chatbots](/content/images/www-theurbanist-org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/832d8045-121f-4c6c-8307-75676237f93f_1_201_a.jpg)
When Ray pitched the idea to me of doing an episode on automation, the first thing I thought was, of course. Automation, in no small part because of the meteoric rise of the chatbot Chat GPT by OpenAI, is being discussed in every news outlet I follow these days. Is
With a new year comes expectations. Whether it’s something shiny and unique or a continuation of the stuff that came before, those expectations really shape our anticipation (or antipathy) for the coming orbit around the sun. In this episode, hosts Natalie Argerious and Ray Dubicki talk about the which
I’m beginning a new podcast journey that I hope that readers of the The Urbanist will accompany me on. For nearly as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated — and often appalled — by the freeways that cut across so many cities. It was this interest that first
We are wrapping up the year, and our second podcast season, with an episode devoted to hygge and the holidays. Yes, we did have to look up the pronunciation of hygge — and practice it — to get it right on the air. For those of you who are not Danish speakers,
In this week’s episode, Ray Dubicki tracks the last few weeks of Seattle City Council meetings to listen in as a fairly small amendment is made to the city’s comprehensive plan. It takes a lot of talking and hearings to get a preference for highway lids written into
This week, let’s talk about the future of Seattle with neighborhood activist and The Urbanist guest contributor Ron Davis, who joins Ray Dubicki to talk about Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan. It can be a big, confusing mess of technocrat speak and boring stats. Is it too geeky? Yes, but
In the song “Five Feet High and Rising,” Johnny Cash sings “Well, the rails are washed out north of town/ We got to head for higher ground/ We can’t come back till the water goes down/ Five feet high and risin’.” Unfortunately, with climate change we are facing a
Given this podcast is dropping on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, there is a solid chance that you or a loved one will spend some time at a mall in the next week. Shopping at climate controlled temples of consumer capitalism is, after all, the point of the holiday. As you
This week, we enjoy some election round-ups as The Urbanist Elections Committee member Jazmine Smith joins Ray Dubicki to talk about the surprises and squeakers of Election Night 2022. From the local initiatives to the state legislature races, we discuss the purpose of advisory notes (none), the problem of having
This week, Port of Seattle Commissioner Ryan Calkins joins reporter Ray Dubicki to talk about the awesomeness of planes, ships, and freight. They’re so cool. We also talk a bit about the future of how stuff moves around the world through Western Washington. Of course, cargo and people do
In this week’s episode, reporter Ray Dubicki is joined by The Urbanist’s executive director Doug Trumm to discuss allocations and adjustments as Seattle’s budget season moves into high gear. The City has about $1.7 billion to spend, and there’s no end of things folks are
With only 13 days to go before the General Election, ballots are officially in the hands of Washington voters. This is your reminder that your ballot is sitting on the kitchen counter. Find it. Fill it out. Mail it in or drop it off by November 8. Here are your
The Urbanist Elections Committee has released it endorsements for the 2022 general election. In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki talks with two members of the Elections Committee. Hannah Sabio-Howell and Rian Watt join the podcast to walk us through the process of developing the candidate questionnaire and surviving some long
In this episode, managing editor Natalie Argerious and reporter Ray Dubicki discuss the lingering haze over Seattle and all of Western Washington. After a soaking wet spring, the region has seen less rain than the desert Southwest. This is not the grey Northwest autumn we signed up for. The region’
In this podcast, managing editor Natalie Argerious and reporter Ray Dubicki talk about the names we put on places and events. It’s the second week in October, long considered to kick off with Columbus Day. However, that name has been changed, recognizing the Indigenous People that were harmed by
In this podcast, managing editor Natalie Argerious and I discuss movies made in the Emerald City. From The Parallax View through Say Anything, there were tons of films and shows that were about Seattle and also made in Seattle. By the turn of the millennium, moviemaking in the city tapered
In this podcast episode, we discuss homelessness, health, and Seattle’s own significant history related to these topics with University of Washington Professor Josephine Ensign, author of Skid Road: On the Frontier of Health and Homelessness in an American City. Professor Ensign’s book will be the topic of discussion
It’s officially the second season of The Urbanist podcast and we are excited to be back. Joining us on this episode is Kelli Refer, Executive Director of Move Redmond and Urbanist board member. Most importantly for this episode, Kelli is a car-free parent whose experience with her young daughter
In this podcast, managing editor Natalie Argerious and I talk summer vacation and the best ways to carry urbanism with you in your travels. We talk summer reading and favorite short trips from Seattle. Natalie also interrogates my younger child Gillian to find out how many of my vacation stories
As founder of Larch Lab, a design studio and think tank devoted to climate adaptive architecture and urbanism, Mike Eliason holds a wealth of knowledge about how to create buildings that make for denser, more sustainable, more livable cities. In this episode, he uses the same simple language to demystify
In this episode, professional educator and managing editor Natalie Argerious tolerates my raving parent commentary about the 2021-2022 public school year. The kids have a lot of catching up to do. The teachers are trying their best and providing them with social and emotional education that we never got. But
In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I talk transit and mobility. Specifically we take on the thorny question of whether or not transit rider use has recovered from pandemic lows. While it’s clear that transit ridership is higher than it was back when we many of us were
In this podcast, reporter Ray Dubicki and I dive into the Harrell administration’s new homelessness data tracker. We assess how well it is fulfilling its purported role of increasing communication and transparency around this pressing and difficult issue with the, and we discuss some of the context around its
When we hit that button to order food through an app, systems engage long supply chains, billions in venture capital, and thousands of people. The impact this has on cities shows up in disappearing cab stands and overwhelmed restaurants. When it comes to the people end of the equation, jurisdictions
In this episode, I call in from Nantes, France, to chat with reporter Ray Dubicki about my current trip to Europe. We discuss all kinds of urbanist topics like multimodal transportation, public spaces, how all cities — even walkable European ones — come head to head with bad planning decisions, and of
The Ballard Bridge is a 105-year-old connection between the industrial Interbay neighborhood and thriving Ballard. With four lanes of moving traffic and completely insufficient sidewalks, it is a barrier. Seattle has plans to replace the bridge, but the flawed proposals focus on car speed rather than neighborhoods. In this episode,
If you follow housing politics, you’ve probably heard of the term YIMBY (a.k.a. yes in my backyard), but do you know what differentiates the YIMBY movement in Washington State versus elsewhere in the country? In this podcast episode, I spoke with reporter Ryan Packer, who traveled to
The first thing you have to know about this podcast is that I just got back from Disneyland and the Star Wars Rise of the Resistance ride was AMAZING. In this episode, managing editor Natalie Argerious and I cover all the ways it was awesome, why it’s even awesomer
People love to talk about food, read about food, and — we hope — listen to podcasts about food too! In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I kick things off with his article on whether or not Seattle has become a $20 lunch town, dissect the causes and possible ramifications of
In this podcast episode, Ray and I discuss the current proposed ballot initiative to create a public development authority (PDA) that would be tasked with constructing and owning mixed-income social housing in Seattle. It’s an ambitious plan modeled after social housing elsewhere in the world, notably Vienna, Austria, that
In this podcast, Ray and I tackle a subject that is much more controversial than it initially appears: trees in cities. The City of Seattle recently passed legislation requiring that tree professionals working in Seattle be licensed. It’s a small move, but one that did not go unnoticed, mostly
A 60-day legislative session might seem like a ridiculously short period of time to get governing done for the eighth largest economy in the USA. After all, Sweden has a full-time legislature, and our GDP is higher than theirs. But who’s counting anyway? Washingtonians insist on making life hard
In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I were joined by Doug Trumm, Executive Director of The Urbanist, to discuss the concrete mixer driver strike that’s upended the construction sector throughout the fast growing Puget Sound region. The strike kicked off back in December when workers employed by the
Hello listeners! In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I talk about golf: a sport that continues to leave a large footprint on American cities, despite waning popularity. The topic has taken on added significance in Seattle in recent years for a few reasons, most notably because of the presence
Covering development for a city like Seattle gives The Urbanist a unique view into the spots where development concentrates. Even so, it’s useful once in a while to step back and ask what this means for a neighborhood. When does a bunch of houses turn into a unique place?
The tragic military attack on Ukraine by Russia has upended the world, making us think differently about things we took for granted even a couple weeks ago. But the new tension and uncertainty we are experiencing is something that influenced government policies in the United States for 40 years. One
In this latest podcast episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I discuss a notable housing trend in Seattle, the conversion of big-box Safeway grocery stores to mixed-units developments creating hundreds of units of new housing. My recent article on the 734 homes proposed at the site of the University Village Safeway
In the latest episode of The Urbanist’s podcast, reporter Ray Dubicki and I talk about what’s going on these days in Downtown Seattle. Ray recently toured some friend guests from LA around Downtown, and he shares what it was like to experience Downtown from an out-of-towner’s perspective
In this second (preview) episode of The Urbanist’s podcast, my fellow host Ray Dubicki and I continue on our journey toward becoming podcasters, which (hint, hint) is not as easy as it might seem. We also discuss the sad demise of Washington State’s proposed HB 1782, a.k.
In this preview of The Urbanist’s forthcoming podcast, Natalie Argerious discusses the missing middle housing bill, HB 1782, which just might make it across the finish line during this legislative session. She shares a bit on where the bill is at now, why lawmakers really should pass the legislation