Scott Berkley
@scott-berkley.bsky.social
Tech 4 Housing organizer. Trying to make Seattle a livable and welcoming place for all.
The West Seattle Junction is once of our city's gems! Thank you @transportation.seattle.gov for making it more convenient to visit and safer to walk around!
Seattle Department of Transportation@transportation.seattle.gov · last wk.Street parking in the West Seattle Junction neighborhood is 85%+ full nearly all day. We’re proposing solutions to help people visit and enjoy the Junction. Details on our blog: https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2026/09/30/making-it-easier-to-visit-west-seattle-junction-and-upper-queen-anne/
Until now, the academic research on IZ has been mostly inconclusive because of all the confounding variables in real life cities. This study utilizes a statewide change in IZ's legal status to isolate its effects, and quantifies each program's stringency. Case closed! Here's a good summary:
New Study Finds California Inclusionary Zoning Rules Reduce Housing Construction by Nearly One-Third - Davis Vanguard
A new University of California, Irvine working paper concluded that California's mandatory inclusionary zoning policies significantly reduce housing production, estimating that the state's typical aff...
davisvanguard.org
Inclusionary zoning nexus studies boldly ask: what if creating jobs for the working class is like emitting pollution?
Help shape streets, support local businesses, & pilot new innovations in Capitol Hill! Join us 9/27 between 1-4pm at Cathy Hillenbrand Community Room, 10th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102. FREE food! Registration is optional. Learn more and RSVP: seattle.gov/transportation/low-pollution-neighborhoods
Seattle has the ingredients: tall buildings 🏢 street trees 🌳 trains 🚈 buses 🚌 bikes 🚲 high quality parks 🏞️ We just need to keep cooking!
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 4w agoNEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Building Toward a Greener, Housing-Abundant Seattle By Logan Schmidt, Jesse Simpson, Jeff Paul via @theurbanist.org
The Seattle Miracle: 1️⃣ Seattle’s tree canopy cover grew 50% (10pp) since 2007. 🌲 2️⃣ Seattle’s population has grown by about 25% (150k people) over the same timeframe. 🌆 This is an incredible civic achievement. Politicians should be shouting this from the rooftops.
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 4w agoNEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Building Toward a Greener, Housing-Abundant Seattle By Logan Schmidt, Jesse Simpson, Jeff Paul via @theurbanist.org
The grandstanding will continue until morale improves!
David Kroman@kromandavid.bsky.social · 4w agoThe new Soundside, already making waves
MAHA has been in power for two years. They have decimated basic science, gutted food safety surveillance and kicked millions of people off food stamps. *That* is their ideology, not their polite platitudes about corporate control of the food supply.
So this led me to wonder: what happened to Julie Kang's bank? And boy, when I looked into the SEC filings history, it led me down into FDIC consent decrees, penalties, and repeated violations so bad, 2 employees were PERMANENTLY PROHIBITED from ever doing banking again. orders.fdic.gov/s/searchform
Here are some urbanism highlights from my week in Toronto! 1/9
Building transmission lines is probably the #1 most underrated climate strategy. Thank you @sightline.org for these recommendations and @victoriahunt.com for leading the progress we've already made!
Sightline Institute@sightline.org · 2mo agoIt can take 20 years for a long-distance electric transmission line to be permitted and built. @ktrumbull.bsky.social and @emilymoore.bsky.social detail what WA and OR can do to get poles in the ground and wires in the air at the pace climate change demands.
long survey but worth it - LOTS of exciting transportation projects to vote for. settle in and have your priorities heard before September 1!
Seattle Department of Transportation@transportation.seattle.gov · 3mo agoLight rail is coming to West Seattle! Meet with us and Seattle OPCD at the West Seattle Farmers Market on July 26 and August 2. We seek feedback on projects & strategies around future West Seattle light rail stations. Take our survey by September 1 or stop by our booth: bit.ly/SAPsummer26
Lots of eye opening examples of surveillance pricing already in practice! May not be entirely common for groceries, but seems like a good thing to get ahead of to me!
jaz@jazzyspraxis.bsky.social · 2mo agoYes. Kroger and Microsoft
Seattle is going to stay winning because we have smart, focused progressive leaders like @councilmember-amr.bsky.social @mayor.seattle.gov @tiffanimc.bsky.social and Dionne Foster (who really needs to make a bluesky account) who know how to take bold ideas and turn them into practical laws!
Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck@councilmember-amr.seattle.gov · 2mo agoAfter months of extensive engagement with labor and industry partners, we are proud to announce legislation that will stop price gouging, promote equal discounts for all, and make groceries more affordable. Read the full press release here: wilson.seattle.gov/2026/08/06/c...
Driving a car is incredibly dangerous, it should be one of the most regulated experiences on earth, and it is very upsetting to watch people who correctly don’t trust the cops turn against automated enforcement because the alternative is relying on a cop’s judgement to enforce the laws.
Properly regulated enforcement to deter behavior that directly risks bodily harm >>>>>> fully speculative surveillance of innocent people
ryan cooper@ryanlcooper.com · 2mo agoyeah, this is good. properly regulated speed and red light cameras are good, Flock-style license plate reader dragnet surveillance is bad www.aclum.org/news/were-pr...
learn more and connect with neighbors at this Sunday’s farmers market
The Seattle Process took one small step towards being consigned to the history books today! Thank you everyone who helped get this passed so that we can get back to solving real problems for Seattleites.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe final vote: YES: Strauss, Foster, Kettle, Lin, Rinck NO: Saka, Juarez, Rivera, Hollingsworth The bill passes 5-4.
The final vote: YES: Strauss, Foster, Kettle, Lin, Rinck NO: Saka, Juarez, Rivera, Hollingsworth The bill passes 5-4.
Saka is the only person to support his own amendment.
Are you voting this weekend? Wondering how lefty organizers on the ground are thinking about this primary? ElectionCheatSheet.org has you covered no matter the level of detail! Switch from a quick voter guide, to deep research on each lefty orgs’ endorsement pages, in just a few taps!
Paperwork will not save our planet! Thank you @cmeddielin.bsky.social for making it possible to do good things in Seattle!
Councilmember Eddie Lin@cmeddielin.seattle.gov · 3mo agoFirst up, our OpEd. There’s much more to say, but I wanted to highlight the importance of political courage when it comes to making the choices we know are needed to address affordability and climate change and to redesign our city around people instead of cars. www.seattletimes.com/opinion/this...
Wow, we got them fired up! They’ve actually done two Editorial Board OpEds in the past month. One on June 30 and another today. How many pieces of legislation get two OpEds! I feel honored.
DC statehood, proportional representation/MMD, court reform, national campaign of reconstruction and deterrence to prevent anyone from ever trying this kind of garbage again
Daniel Drezner@dandrezner.bsky.social · 3mo agoKlein asks Allen what liberals should prioritize if they win the trifecta in 2028. Allen suggests the following: 1) Putting an end to Citizens United; 2) Creation of national service; 3) Ending gerrymandering
It's tunnel vision to focus on MHA generating funds for affordable housing. It can! But it comes at the cost of raising rents for everyone else. Because no housing gets built until the worsening shortage pushes up rents high enough to offset the MHA fee. And that hits lower-income renters hardest.
Seattle walks back plan to lower fees funding affordable housing
Days before a deal to lower developer fees that fund affordable housing was expected to be released to the public, City Hall is backing away from the idea.
seattletimes.com
The @westseaurbanism.bsky.social army is assembled and ready to fight for charging the right price to ensure 1-2 available spots per block!
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 3mo agoOh this should be fun. westseattleblog.com/2026/07/paid...