The Urbanist
@theurbanist.org
Advocacy journalism for better cities.👩🦽👨🦯🚶🚴♀️ 🚎 ⛴️ 🚊 🚆 🏙️ Based in the Seattle metro area. Read our coverage on theurbanist.org. 📰
NEW STORY// August Social and The Urbanist x CityNerd: Building a Transit-Oriented Puget Sound By Diego Batres via @theurbanist.org
August Social and The Urbanist x CityNerd: Building a Transit-Oriented Puget Sound
Get your ticket to our September 15th Town Hall Seattle talk featuring CityNerd's Ray Delahanty and The Urbanist’s Ryan Packer. Attendees will get a sneak peek at a CityNerd video before a deep dive into light rail plans.
theurbanist.org
NEW STORY// Library Levies Up Big in Early Primary Results, Mixed Bag for Progressive Challengers By Doug Trumm via @theurbanist.org
Library Levies Up Big in Early Primary Results, Mixed Bag for Progressive Challengers
Seattle and Sno-Isle library levies are both cruising to victory based on election night returns. Urbanists appear likely to flip a Seattle Council seat, but several centrist lawmakers fended off challenges from the left.
theurbanist.org
Seattle voters are currently approving the library levy renewal by nearly 72%.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 14h agoGreetings from the Yes Seattle Libraries election night party at Reuben's downtown, featuring CM Dionne Foster.
Proposition 1––which extends and expands Spokane Transit service for another 20 years––is a nail-biter. Yes: 31,153 (50.38%) No: 30,686 (49.62%) It needs 50% + 1 to pass.
Vote! It's the last day of the WA primary. Get your ballots in a drop box by 8pm. Here's our picks! www.theurbanist.org/2026-primary...
NEW STORY// Voter Turnout Lags as Washington's Primary Election Enters Home Stretch By Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org
Voter Turnout Lags as Washington's Primary Election Enters Home Stretch
The deadline to get a ballot to a drop box in Washington draws near, with voter turnout lagging even where it was four years ago. Ballots are due tonight at 8pm.
theurbanist.org
Today is the day! Check your mailbox, fill out your ballot, and drop it off before 8pm. 🗳️ Not sure who to vote for? @theurbanist.org has you covered! Their extensive questionnaires, interviews, and endorsements are unmatched. www.theurbanist.org/2026-primary...
NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Sound Transit Gave Us a Ballard Date. Here’s How To Accelerate It. By Seattle Subway via @theurbanist.org
Op-Ed: Sound Transit Gave Us a Ballard Date. Here’s How To Accelerate It.
Sound Transit recently revealed light rail won't reach Ballard until "around 2060" without further intervention. Seattle Subway lays out a path to greatly accelerate this delivery date, which they call “wildly unacceptable.”
theurbanist.org
“Amtrak service between Portland and Seattle is at a standstill for the time being due to the threat of a building collapse near the tracks in Northwest Portland.” www.kgw.com/article/news...
kgw.com
Getting to the point of construction on 154 units next door to Issaquah Transit Center involved numerous hurdles city officials had to surmount since 2016, but now the saga is seen as a wake-up call within Issaquah when it comes to barriers to housing. Story: www.theurbanist.org/issaquah-bre...
Issaquah Breaks Ground on Affordable Housing Project Ten Years in the Making
Getting to the point of construction on 154 units next door to Issaquah Transit Center involved numerous hurdles city officials had to surmount since 2016. But now the saga is seen as a wake-up call w...
theurbanist.org
Metro's fall service change page is finally up. There are a LOT of adjustments on deck for August 29 as the final phases of the Federal Way, Lynnwood, and East Link restructures. kingcounty.gov/en/dept/metr...
Service Change - King County, Washington
kingcounty.gov
This is a story about an affordable housing project that took way too long to get to construction...and a story of city officials who are turning those lessons into reforms that impact all housing projects, affordable and market-rate. www.theurbanist.org/issaquah-bre...
Issaquah Breaks Ground on Affordable Housing Project Ten Years in the Making
Getting to the point of construction on 154 units next door to Issaquah Transit Center involved numerous hurdles city officials had to surmount since 2016. But now the saga is seen as a wake-up call w...
theurbanist.org
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson has signed the SEPA reform bill into law.
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · last wk.A 5-4 Seattle City Council vote yesterday means city-level appeals that have delayed significant citywide zoning changes in the past will be extinguished. Conventional appeal options to Superior Court or the state growth hearings board will remain. Story: www.theurbanist.org/seattle-coun...
Definitely appears to be Dreher's deputy campaign manager, Liv Schroeder, swiping yard signs in these pics.
Hannah Krieg@hannahkrieg.bsky.social · 2d agoNEW: State House candidate Ron Davis is accusing Will Dreher's campaign of stealing yard signs as they believe to have captured on video. Dreher says that's not his staff in the video and says Davis's signs amount to removable litter anyway! www.theburnerseattle.com/post/state-h...
Helpful info for voting, but even if you've already voted this is worth a read to gain an understanding around some of the issues around Seattle Munipal Court.
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 2d agoNEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Vote Gabe Rothstein for Seattle Municipal Court By Austin Field (Guest Contributor) via @theurbanist.org
NEW STORY// Issaquah Breaks Ground on Affordable Housing Project Ten Years in the Making By Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org
Issaquah Breaks Ground on Affordable Housing Project Ten Years in the Making
Getting to the point of construction on 154 units next door to Issaquah Transit Center involved numerous hurdles city officials had to surmount since 2016. But now the saga is seen as a wake-up call within Issaquah when it comes to barriers to actually building housing near transit.
theurbanist.org
America Walks is urging Congress to block federal transportation funding reauthorization until the White House can prove that it is following the law and disbursing funding Congress has allocated to transit, bike, and pedestrian projects. Op-ed by Mike McGinn: www.theurbanist.org/op-ed-federa...
Op-Ed: Federal Transportation Policy Is Growing Unhinged Under Trump
America Walks is urging Congress to block federal transportation funding reauthorization until the Whitehouse can prove that it is following the law and disbursing funding Congress has allocated to tr...
theurbanist.org
NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Vote Gabe Rothstein for Seattle Municipal Court By Austin Field (Guest Contributor) via @theurbanist.org
Op-Ed: Vote Gabe Rothstein for Seattle Municipal Court
Seattle voters have an opportunity to reform one of the state's most powerful and dysfunctional courts: Seattle Municipal Court. Voters should seize this opportunity and elect Gabe Rothstein, a career public defender with significant judicial experience.
theurbanist.org
America Walks is urging Congress to block federal transportation funding reauthorization until the White House can prove that it is following the law and disbursing funding Congress has allocated to transit, bike, and pedestrian projects. Op-ed by Mike McGinn: www.theurbanist.org/op-ed-federa...
Op-Ed: Federal Transportation Policy Is Growing Unhinged Under Trump
America Walks is urging Congress to block federal transportation funding reauthorization until the Whitehouse can prove that it is following the law and disbursing funding Congress has allocated to tr...
theurbanist.org
NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Federal Transportation Policy Is Growing Unhinged Under Trump By Mike McGinn via @theurbanist.org
Op-Ed: Federal Transportation Policy Is Growing Unhinged Under Trump
America Walks is urging Congress to block federal transportation funding reauthorization until the Whitehouse can prove that it is following the law and disbursing funding Congress has allocated to transit, bike, and pedestrian projects.
theurbanist.org
Despite having the largest network of train tracks in the world, the United States has a serious lack of passenger rail services. That’s not by accident, as Rollie Williams of @climatetown.bsky.social explains in this video. Sunday Video: www.theurbanist.org/sunday-video...
Sunday Video: Where Are America’s Trains?
Despite having the largest network of train tracks in the world, the United States has a serious lack of passenger rail services. That’s not by accident, as Rollie Williams of Climate Town explains in...
theurbanist.org
NEW STORY// Sunday Video: Where Are America’s Trains? By Stephen Fesler via @theurbanist.org
Sunday Video: Where Are America’s Trains?
Despite having the largest network of train tracks in the world, the United States has a serious lack of passenger rail services. That’s not by accident, as Rollie Williams of Climate Town explains in this video.
theurbanist.org
If you, like me, are just waking up and wondering what "derailment recovery" Sound Transit's service alerts are referring to. This train was initially in the pocket track at IDS.
Cortana@cortanav.bsky.social · 3d agoNobody freak out but the Seattle light rail just derailed across the track at the Chinatown International District station.
Here's my take on yesterday's press conference on Seattle's new interim chief and the resignation of Shon Barnes. I'd particularly like to flag the CARE response piece; a different police chief could potentially reduce friction in having CARE responders dispatched by 911 (although not a panacea).
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 4d agoNEW STORY// Wilson and Council Clash after Seattle Police Chief's Resignation By Amy Sundberg via @theurbanist.org
On Friday, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson defended her decision to ask for Police Chief Shon Barnes’ resignation, which he proffered Thursday. Several councilmembers have lambasted the move. Story: www.theurbanist.org/wilson-and-c...
Wilson and Council Clash after Seattle Police Chief's Resignation
On Friday, Mayor Katie Wilson defended her decision to ask for Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes’ resignation, which he proffered Thursday. Several councilmembers have lambasted the move.
theurbanist.org
NEW STORY// Wilson and Council Clash after Seattle Police Chief's Resignation By Amy Sundberg via @theurbanist.org
Wilson and Council Clash after Seattle Police Chief's Resignation
On Friday, Mayor Katie Wilson defended her decision to ask for Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes’ resignation, which he proffered Thursday. Several councilmembers have lambasted the move.
theurbanist.org
“Friday's announcement came in response to an August 1 deadline to provide a timeline for the full Ballard Link project, a motion made by Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss at the urging of transit advocates who raised concerns about Sound Transit's lack of transparency.”
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 5d agoThe new 2060 timeline for light rail stations in Interbay and Ballard assumes Sound Transit isn't able to unearth any major cost savings or unlock additional financial tools. But the agency painted an optimistic picture for a 2042 opening. Story: www.theurbanist.org/full-ballard...
