The Urbanist is in the middle of our fall membership drive right now, and our pitch is pretty straightforward: we want to provide more REPORTING and not AI slop. www.theurbanist.org/membership/

Randomly thought of this photo today taken by David Ley in 1974 of people protesting the construction of what would be the last mid-rise in Kitsilano before the downzoning. Apartments build in the 60s and 70s are now often celebrated as Vancouver's (relatively) affordable housing stock.

still insane that he didn't go to prison for this

Three great reported essays on the inter generational conflict over housing and active transportation, particularly in Northern California: First, a Berkeley-raised writer’s exploration of his parents’ generation’s complicated feelings about the proposed apartments and the Hopkins bike lane:

A Tale of Paradise, Parking Lots and My Mother’s Berkeley Backyard (Gift Article)

Plans to build apartments have sparked a fight between progressive newcomers and nostalgic old-timers — with surprising allegiances in a writer’s hometown.

nytimes.com

I never used to bike anywhere, got an e-bike on a whim. Eliminated all my in-town car trips almost immediately. Even started biking to work (13 miles each way). E-bikes replace cars, not bikes.

Gravel Influencer@gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · last mo.

Something I appreciate about BlueSky is that when someone drops an "e-bikes are cheating" take they are roundly criticized. There are definitely some anti e-bike folks here, but people generally understand that e-bikes are a transformative piece of technology for getting people out of cars.

The debt situation Republicans have created is going to be a generational problem. You can't sustain a >100% debt to GDP ratio at 5% interest rates. The hole only gets deeper and rates only get higher as skepticism in your ability to pay rises.

This is one of those things that you know in your bones wouldn't have happened under the previous mayor.

Qagggy!@qagggy.bsky.social · last mo.

Holy shit we’re flying like a bat out of hell. #Acceler8

Wow

>imperial concubine controls national security >court eunuchs are ceaselessly fighting for internal influence >the viziers are scheming over who replaces the leader >the leader fritters away all his time repeatedly replacing the grass on the lawn >the palace debt grows greater by the day

Department of Commerce:

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Bainbridge Island has received a response to its request for a state extension under the Housing Accountability Act, which would delay the Builder's Remedy taking effect this month. Per CM Ashley Matthews, the answer is no. At least adopt interim regulations or you're non-compliant, Commerce says.

Some things I've learned about legislative advocacy, and I think my record speaks for itself. 1. Start by asking for everything you want. Stop preemptively negotiating against yourself. The process of passing the bill will whittle it down. Why started with a whittled down product?

Don't Idaho my Washington! www.advocate.com/politics/sta...

Washington ballot measure could force all girls to have genital inspections to play sports

Advocates for both cis and trans girls call foul on a new right-wing proposal that would force school-age female athletes to undergo invasive physical exams to "prove" their gender.

advocate.com

This is such a binary test of "do you understand outcomes vs intents?" and it's at least inspiring that a majority of council gets it. The rest not so much...

Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Final vote: Juarez, Saka, Rivera, and Hollingsworth vote no and the legislation passes on a 5-4 vote.

What do you do if you hear someone talking on the phone in the quiet car and you look over and it's LeBron? Hell, what does @amtrak.com do?

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 2mo ago

so much for billionaires fleeing because of zohran

the food safety stuff is another reminder that a large, huge, gigantic part of being a republican is going “lmao why are we spending money to prevent horrifying disasters from happening if they never happen 🤪”

We are dooming current and future generations because we lack the imagination and political will to see a future designed around people instead of cars.

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The project on the left is completely through environmental review and is approved to move into construction and the project on the right needs more environmental analysis, everything is working great.

Politicians decided to give curb parking away for free. Off-street garages charge fees. So at peak hours, curb parking is jampacked, garages are mostly empty, and customers complain. #Seattle has a parking MANAGEMENT problem, not a parking supply problem. It's politicians can and should fix it!

All that weird science we used to sponsor does turn over some gems every so often: www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

It’s New Foods Day for the Minnesota State Fair and this, to me, is the promise of America www.mnstatefair.org/new/food

New from @frontiergroup.bsky.social: These are the states where people are driving less than they used to. (Interestingly, all three West Coast states - WA, OR and CA - have seen meaningful declines in per-capita vehicle travel since 1994.) frontiergroup.org/resources/wh...

Updated: Less driving is possible

Residents of several states have driven fewer miles on average in recent years than they did three decades ago. This decline suggests that Americans’ high levels of driving are not inevitable.

frontiergroup.org

to the CMs who might like to cut transit in the name of affordability i ask: if you made minimum wage, would you rather pay $29 per year to ensure your bus gets you to work on time, or $40 on a lyft every time it doesn’t show up?

memily@memz.bsky.social · 3mo ago

to the CMs who might like to cut transit service and/or increase spending on transit security i ask: have you considered that what makes someone feel safe and secure is *getting on a bus* instead of waiting in the dark and the rain for a bus that may or may not come in 20 minutes?

Building near jobs and transit costs taxpayers $21K less per unit upfront than fringe development, cuts annual maintenance in half, and recoups public investment in 9 years vs. 13, consistent across 10 states. cayimby.org/blog/why-bui...

Why Building Homes in Your Neighborhood's Backyard Is Actually the Fiscally Conservative Move - California YIMBY

Building homes near jobs, transit, and stores costs governments roughly $21,000 less per unit in upfront infrastructure than building at the suburban fringe — and that gap widens over time. …

cayimby.org

Monday. 5 p.m. USA. Belgium. Seattle.

YIMBYism in blue states is inherently pro-trans because it makes it more practical for trans people fleeing Draconian laws in red states to move there

Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈@maxdubler.com · 3mo ago

A cisgender straight guy screaming in Scott Wiener’s face and telling him that even though he passes great bills on LGBT issues, he “does not deserve to be at” the Trans March that he’s been attending for 22 years because he’s a YIMBY is a perfect symbol of the modern day SF “left.”

“the story should be how transit agencies are building for the new world, not how they are bringing back the old one” 👏👏👏 Seattle’s Frequent Transit Network is our vision to do exactly this, and the Seattle Transit Measure is our pathway. 🚎

Jarrett Walker@humantransit.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Transit agencies should stop talking about getting "back" to pre-COVID ridership. Here's why. humantransit.org/2026/06/tran...

Got this vaccine as a child and helped manufacture it as an adult. Get the vaccine, you never know whose life you might save.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 4mo ago

RFK Jr. says that HPV vaccine is “dangerous and defective”. A new study from England shows that HPV vaccines have reduced deaths from cervical cancer to ZERO for women aged 20-24. Significant reductions in older age groups were observed as well, though the latter have lower vaccination coverage.

Center City really creating a whole new culture in Philly. Hopefully this is the squeaking open of a floodgate.

Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com · 4mo ago

The top 10 US neighborhoods in terms of added housing supply, 2020–25: 1—Downtown Nashville 2—Central Philly 3—Downtown Brooklyn 4—Downtown Seattle 5—Downtown Salt Lake City 6—Downtown Miami 7—NoMa DC 8—South Bronx 9—Downtown Denver 10—Navy Yard DC Explore: www.urban.org/urban-wire/w...

look at these ridiculous fuckheads

Derrick Edward Jones@deuceohsixx.bsky.social · 4mo ago

While visitors are praising Seattle on its handling of the World Cup so far, the local right-wing social media influencers are falling over each other to mention “open air drug markets,” “fentanyl/meth clouds,”, etc. for Fox News/Newsmax content in the less than 1% of the city that is in turmoil.

Should Seattle sales tax be increased to subsidize wealthy suburban road building? No! But that's what the King County Council is proposing to do this Friday. Tell them to treat Seattle fairly, and not siphon $3 million sales tax for Bellevue etc. Take action now! actionnetwork.org/letters/8415...

Tell King County Council not to tax Seattle for suburban roads

Dear King County Council, Siphoning nearly $3 million of regressive sales tax from Seattleites to subsidize building roads in wealthy suburbs like Medina, Bellevue, Yarrow Point, and Beaux Arts is un...

actionnetwork.org

Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 5mo ago

A new tax measure intended to bolster unincorporated King County could also boost city budgets...but significantly shortchange Seattle with an arbitrary cap. www.theurbanist.org/new-county-t...