Cities & Planning

As an ecological engineer, driven by a love for ecology and a fascination with technology, I research, design, and pilot emerging technologies to build better urban ecosystems for people and nature. A framework I call the “Internet of Nature”.

Kiosks, brick and mortar shops, and pop-ups are all possible retail approaches Sound Transit quietly completed a retail integration strategy report. The strategy outlines four general approaches to…

The Transit Costs Project is exploring how to deliver more high-capacity transit projects for a fraction of the cost in countries like the United States.

An NYU study finds that most of the overspending isn’t where you think it is.

At every sideways breath of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Seattle fans expect news of men’s professional basketball returning to the nation’s upper left. Like gleaning divine words of prophets from…

A public school is an essential part of any community. Here in Seattle, public schools are in crisis.  Last month, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) announced their intention to close schools and c…

A while back I wrote about Ada Palmer’s glorious science fiction series Terra Ignota, which I really do recommend to anyone with the slightest interest in philosophy, politics, or history.  But I called out one feature of her world that made me crazy: the fantasy that globe-spanning supersonic driverless flying Uber would enable people to make […]

Seattle voters will have the opportunity to vote on building housing on publicly owned land on February 14. This housing would go to renters earning up to 120% of the local median income. Seattle h…

Most frequently used by high school sports participants, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation employees, and Seattle Opera goers, the northeast corner of Seattle Center is probably the quietest area o…

Scientists are racing to study Arctic ecosystems before they are lost forever.

“Am I concerned? Hell yes, I’m concerned.”

David Cottrell of North Cove has thrown hay bales, stumps and $400 of rocks at the rising coastline. His experiment caught the eye of global experts.

Critics say the tract of detached houses would increase sprawl, harm critical wildlife habitat. This Saturday, February 11th, Save Coal Creek and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club are calling people to…

Two decades ago Vancouver experimented with a new public space, a sustainable country lane. Why it is time to revisit this innovation for sustainability and for community public health.

Located in downtown, the new Seattle Convention Center breaks the mold of sprawling, horizontal convention centers.

Some experts believe the concept may be the best and cheapest way for cities to adapt to climate change. Numerous cities are dealing with two seemingly unrelated challenges: flooding and drought. T…

Savings could elevate light rail in Rainier Valley, speeding up service, improving safety, and fully automate the system. Sound Transit is currently planning the West Seattle and Ballard Link Exten…

A bill allowing single-stairway “point access block” buildings would enhance housing and neighborhoods. On February 2nd the Washington State Senate held its first hearing on SB 5491, a …

One parking stall per 1,000 square feet of racquetball facility. One stall for every five seats in a theater. One stall for every 300 feet of a veterinary clinic. One stall for every 400 square fee…

A survey on possible Bell Street changes is open for public comment through February 12th. As work continues at a feverish pace to complete some of the most long-awaited elements of Seattle’s…

City planners are rethinking the role parking garages play in the urban landscape with new regulations and designs that repurpose old parking infrastructure.

Will the station be shallow, deep, or somewhere between? On Fourth or Fifth Avenue? Or skip Chinatown and Midtown altogether for a Pioneer Square junction? Many ideas and questions are still swirli…

On February 4th, the Tacoma Tree Foundation (TTF) will host a planting event at Madison Elementary school. The school is one of the only publicly accessible green spaces across the entire Tacoma Ma…

Part of a series of responses while taking a course by the Institute for Social Ecology: "Solarpunk, Art, and Social Ecological Aesthetics".

Turning your perfectly unnatural (yet impressively green) lawn into an imperfectly wild(ish) piece of land requires a little time and energy at first. And then...a lot less mowing.

What would happen if public transportation were free? What if it were paid for by congestion pricing, digitally implemented? What if public toilets were safe, beautiful, well-appointed and consiste…