ICYMI: Suburban development costs 38% more in upfront public costs & 10% more in ongoing costs than compact development, PLUS has only 1/10th the tax revenue per acre, confirms report summarizing 17 studies. Via @smartgrowthusa.bsky.social
The blunt truth? Sprawl is heavily subsidized by ALL of us.
Hell yes. I can’t wait to vote for Ron!
Unlike the incumbent “Democrat,” who works hard to prevent housing from being built, contributing to the affordability problem, Ron will work to remove roadblocks. He’s smart, led a business, understands technology. This is great.
I’m glad Rep. Reed fought for those transit bonds. It would be interesting to know why her colleagues did not. Seattle’s legislative delegation makes up nearly half the Democratic caucus. They could have forced the issue. Instead, some of them are now even more vulnerable to strong challengers.
Every local councillor from our larger centres (at least) need to watch and learn from this classic.
I’m sure some already have, given the NZ example contained within.
There’s no such thing as a green car. What you’re thinking of is a less bad car that we’re at risk of having more of, and driving more, because we’ve been convinced it’s a green car.
Again, see the thread.
Hi everyone.
If every single one of you seeing this post considered clicking “follow” on our new account/movement, @urbantruth.bsky.social, our work would start regularly reaching a BIG audience, and that’s KEY to us having the REAL IMPACT we hope this initiative will have.
Thanks for considering!
New York City, Seattle, all of Europe have this same standard and research finds no difference in safety between single staircase buildings in those places and the double staircase version. www.pew.org/en/research-...
But I thought SF banned landlords from using AI software to illegally collude and set higher prices therefore ending the housing affordability crisis ???
Too bad this good article is marred by such a bad headline.
Fixed it:
To Cut Housing Costs, Some States Are Reforming Fire Safety Rules That Don't Make Buildings Safer
For the record, WA was the first state to pass single-stair legislation, but is now lagging other states in implementation.
Elevators!
"During the 15 years I was a renter, I never found a single accessible apartment in a building with fewer than six stories. This isn’t a coincidence; it’s a design failure dictated by Washington state’s outdated codes." www.seattletimes.com/opinion/miss...
More evidence every day
it would make way more sense to have road portion of development cost charges levied on the purchase of cars than it does to have it on the purchase of houses.
I'm pretty sure there's not
From The Guardian: Disappeared bodies, mass burials and ‘30,000 dead’: what is the truth of Iran’s death toll? www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
By Lauren Girgis Seattle Times staff reporter Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans ended her predecessor’s practice of routinely disqualifying an elected municipal court judge from hearing certain cases based on what the city’s former top lawyer said was biased and prejudicial decision-making.
PubliCola readers learned about this a week ago.
We rely entirely on financial support from our readers, and unlike the Seattle Times, we don't put a paywall on the news.
publicola.com/2026/02/10/a...
A man with one hand on a steering wheel and in his right hand he is holding a green beer bottle
You would be freaked out if you saw 25% of drivers drinking a beer, right?
Using a phone is no different.
If a 27 year old woman was randomly killed on the streets of Capitol Hill by *anything* other than a motor vehicle it would be all over the front pages this morning. Cars are the thing that make me fear the most for my safety in this city and yet this is how the local paper of record responds.
Better build more houses, blue states.
I just wrote a @theactionnetwork.bsky.social letter: Take Action: Transportation Planning Must Support Washington’s Climate Goals. Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/take...
San Diego rents fall 5.5%—proof that building housing works.
Add 6,000 apartments, prices drop.
This eases pressure on voucher programs, helps low-income renters, makes the city more accessible.
Want sustained affordability? Keep building.
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/04/r...
Bainbridge Island City Council 🤝 Sammamish City Council
Doing the absolute bare minimum required by state law to make room for housing growth while touting their work on "the environment."
So sad.
I just wrote a @theactionnetwork.bsky.social letter: Help Sound Transit Build Light Rail Faster. Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/help...
One of the screenwriters of the Iranian film "It Was Just an Accident" has been arrested. Sonny Bunch and Mona Charen talked about it here:
This terrible bill––which guts our breakthrough SEPA exemption for housing––is set for a possible vote on TUESDAY AT 1:30PM in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy, and Technology.
Please send your legislators a note. We can’t move backward on housing in this #waleg session!
Still stunned every time a planning prof looks at the landscape of rising rates of doubling up and concludes that’s entirely due to people’s preferences. And that the strong correlation of doubling with rents is purely coincidental. And that adding homes won’t change doubling up rates.
Next time someone asks you about energy and land use, maybe remind them that the ~35 million acres that currently grow corn for ethanol in the US could produce ~15 PWh per year of electricity from solar photovoltaics. That's ~3.5 times more than *total annual generation from all US power plants*.
