Cities & Planning

Who is a refugee? A person outside the U.S. seeking refuge. The U.S., based on international law, defines “refugee” as a person outside the country of his or her nationality, who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution based on his or her race, religion, nationality,

This is an overview of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), State and Health and Human Services (HHS) work together to uphold America’s humanitarian response to refugees through the U.S. Resettlement Program (USRP).

The journey to creating equitable transit-oriented development is a complicated one and requires looking at several moments in history that converged to get the region and the country to where we are now. This is the first piece in a limited series exploring the history, current policies, and initiatives to create and maintain equitable transit-oriented development in the region.

As relentless rains pounded LA, the city’s “sponge” infrastructure helped gather 8.6 billion gallons of water—enough to sustain over 100,000 households for a year.

It’s What They Do, Even When They Shouldn’t

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 seeking bids from private developers.

A popular neighborhood cafe bill that sailed through the Washington House has run into problems in the Senate, mostly dealing with the question of local control. The Association of Washington Cities and the City of Bellevue have lobbied against the bill.

Mark Twain once said: “golf is a good walk spoiled.”1 Some American communities are realizing that a golf course is

Most defunct golf courses get paved over, but a number are getting transformed into ecological life rafts for wildlife, plants — and people.

Editor’s note: In anticipation of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History’s (SACRPH) 2024 conference to be held in San Diego on the campus of the University of Calif…

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.

Today, it only represents about 1.5% of the electricity used. A report from Environment America shows how installed rooftop solar increased 1000% in the past decade, and how it has a long runway of growth ahead.

Fewer cases of childhood asthma is one possible outcome.

Yakima, Boise, Missoula, and Pocatello could see Amtrak service again under a new federal plan that adds a daily route from Seattle to Denver and another running to Chicago on a modified alignment from Amtrak's Empire Builder.

After publishing the articles Edmonds: Entering the automobile age and the Edmonds 1911 Monorail, I was asked by several people to write about the Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway regarding when it was...

Ownership matters. From the climate crisis to concentrated corporate power, ownership shapes how our economy operates and in whose interest. Only by reimagining it can we build an economy that's democratic and sustainable by design.

How public ownership of new renewable capacity can accelerate the energy transition.

A Review of the Long-Awaited Revised Edition of Public Transit's Bible When I'm working on a non-fiction book, there sometimes comes a moment when I realize that there's somebody out there who has already reached many of the conclusions that I've been fumbling, in my non-expert way, to grasp. In

White Castle has its own take on fast food hamburgers. For starters, the patties are square, with five holes in each patty. And they’re small, too –- two-and-a-half inch sliders. Just big enough to fit into the palm of your hand. And since they’re steamed on a bed of onions, everything is infused with this

Plans to create room for people biking on 11 corridors across BelRed, Wilburton, and Downtown Bellevue have been paused. Staff said it's a routine step to address an ethics complaint, but opponents are hoping to make the pause permanent.

Uytae Lee of About Here highlights Kensington Market, a very diverse district in Toronto steeped in history. It’s increasingly become a popular area of the city for redevelopment interest. Lee highlights how the community is trying to move forward while having a stronger stake in decisions around how the neighborhood changes through a community land

The new “Happy to Chat” seats in the Trade Center Plaza had an impact on me. While there are plenty of people who will ignore the nudges prompted by the seating, the seats are fun, whimsical, and fairly inexpensive pieces of civic infrastructure.

Washington continues to build new highways even as maintenance, safety, and community needs continue to grow. America Walks is pushing for a nationwide reconsideration of continued highway expansion.

Dramatic changes in energy industry and EVs reducing fossil fuel use, but shipping, aviation and industry a long way from net zero

A Grist report reveals that over the past 150 years, WSU has collected at least $1B in profit from land taken from 21 Indigenous nations.

Filed Tuesday, I-136 would create a dedicated income stream for social housing, generating around $50 million per year.

Source:  curbed.com (Janna Morton) Let’s talk about the nation’s housing affordability crisis. I recently downloaded some 2023 third qua...

Automation isn't always a bad thing.