crosscut.com : Suburbia

A suburban sucker's bet

Crosscut — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:46:01 PDT

An interesting follow-up to my story last week on the future of suburbia is a profile of Merced, Calif., in the Aug. 24 issue of The New York Times. Skeptical that some burbs might become the new ghost towns? Check out the picture of the Riverstone housing development that accompanies this story, of an unfinished project baking in the sun and dirty air of a boomtown gone bust.

The future of 'nowhere'

Crosscut — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Urban planners love to hate the suburbs, but what's going to become of them? Will Bellevue eventually become a post-carbon ghost town or a new urban hybrid? Some reflections on the urban/suburban debate.

To lower housing prices, look at Chicago

Crosscut — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:31:01 PDT

Median condominium prices in Chicago, notes Harvard urban economist Edward Glaeser, are $232,000. That's very low, even a shade under those in Trenton, N.J. (The King County median price for condos is $285,000.) What do those smart urbanists in Chicago know about affordability?

Vision 2040 for Pugetopolis

Crosscut — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:00:01 PDT

An urban geographer uses un-rose-tinted glasses in peering into the crystal ball. He finds that we will not be able to do much about growing income segregation, congestion, gentrification in Seattle, and leapfrog development. Nor will rail transit help make things better.

How to be a modern mayor: the Denver model

Crosscut — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:00:01 PDT

Denver is about to have its 15 days of fame, as host to the Democratic National Convention next month. I suspect one star of the show will be Mayor John Hickenlooper, my idea of the best mayor in the nation. NewWest.net recently did a good interview with the mayor, and it's a fine introduction to his winning style. It's also an audio interview.

Helpful policy tips for Dino Rossi

Crosscut — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:23:01 PDT

So far, not a lot of policy is coming out of the Dino Rossi campaign, but it may be very interesting when it does. That's because the Republicans are getting pretty desperate for bold new ideas to turn around their national tailspin. I'll give some examples below.

Sausage Links, blame-game edition

Crosscut — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:05:01 PDT

David Goldstein at Horse's Ass says everyone has missed the boat about the latest mess surrounding the "top-two" primary. The Seattle Times blamed the parties. The parties blamed the state. Others blamed the lawyers. Goldstein, however, says the person to blame for what could be the "most monumental legal fuck up in state history — one which puts the legitimacy of our entire 2008 election in jeopardy" — is state Attorney General Rob McKenna.

Sausage Links, "freedom to get drunk and blow stuff up" edition

Crosscut — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:23:01 PDT

Chris Mulick at the Tri-City Herald has today's top story, reporting this morning that Tim Eyman's Initiative 985 and the Service Employees International Union-backed Initiative 1029 would — if passed by voters in November — increase the state's budget deficit by an estimated $300 million.

The 100-year gamble to save our quality of life

Crosscut — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A close look at the ambitious "Cascade Agenda," which hopes to preserve the central Puget Sound region's natural systems from a Pugetopolis that sprawls all the way to the Cascades. The mechanisms are known, but it's not clear they can work well enough or soon enough.

Polimedia lunch links, 'let's party' edition

Crosscut — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:06:01 PDT

Eric Earling at Sound Politics responds to Gov. Chris Gregoire's recent assertion that the Building Industry Association of Washington "is the most powerful special interest lobby" in the state, pointing to the Dem's own PACs as evidence. In case you missed the Top of The News, Gov. Christine Gregoire's donors won big-time after they helped her squeak out a victory in 2004. ...

Transit train wreck: The case against more light rail

Crosscut — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:00:01 PDT

The recent former state secretary of transportation has been riding buses a lot lately and crunching numbers, and he's convinced light rail to the Eastside and more Sounder service has no place in a big new transit plan. He thinks an advanced bus rapid transit system is the best way to serve millions of people and smartly manage urban growth. Part 1 of 3

Social progress in White Center

Crosscut — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:00:01 PDT

The neighborhood is the focus of several programs designed to boost test scores, encourage early learning, improve living conditions, and provide a positive example of community pride and success that can be applied elsewhere. Part 2

Gentrifying White Center

Crosscut — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:01 PDT

White Center is an unincorporated neighborhood and cultural melting pot, sandwiched between Seattle proper and the suburb of Highline. Despite grappling with urban crime and the difficulties of providing subsidized housing for low income residents, both Seattle and Burien believe there is hope. Part 1

Mods versus snobs

Crosscut — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Modernist architecture is for the elite, right? Not any more. The movement to preserve modern structures is finding new energy in populist appeal and as a counterbalance to today's McMansions and Viagra villas. The debate over a Ballard Denny's is just one squabble in a growing national discussion about preservation, proportion, and pedigree.

A big, new growth management plan is already outgrown

Crosscut — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:00:01 PDT

The Puget Sound Regional Council's Vision 2040, to be adopted tomorrow, has been outrun by seven years of population growth in the very outlying areas the plan is intended to protect, says the recent former Washington secretary of transportation. He explains what's happened and argues for a recalibration of strategy.

11-7: Northwesterners cut gasoline consumption 11 percent in seven years

Crosscut — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:00:01 PDT

A report released today by Sightline Institute shows that per-capita gasoline consumption in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho decreased for the seventh consecutive year in 2007. That's an 11 percent decrease since 1999.

The Seattle Times' suburban retreat

Crosscut — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:00:01 PDT

First of a series: Publisher Frank Blethen sought to conquer the Eastside but helped turn the suburbs into a daily newspaper desert.

Conspicuous Seattle

Crosscut — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A town of modest pleasures has become a city of cringe-inducing excess, even in the little things like coffee, booze, and movie tickets.

Does inclusionary zoning build more affordable housing?

Crosscut — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:10:01 PDT

The cure-du-jour for skyrocketing housing prices, at least in Seattle City Hall, is something called inclusionary zoning, or IZ. It's in effect in more than 300 urban areas in the country. Typically IZ requires residential developers to include a percentage of affordable housing in new projects. Does it work?

Bellevue ranks at top for places to live and launch a company

Crosscut — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:00:01 PDT

Bellevue is the top city in a new ranking of best American cities to live and launch a new business by CNN Money.com. Seattle doesn't even make the list of the top 100 such places. The survey rates Bellevue high for its low crime rate, great schools, excellent health care, and diverse population (40 percent nonwhite or foreign-born). It describes the town as having "grown with unusual grace" into a place that is sophisticated and metropolitan but not yet crowded or expensive. Apparently the survey is not aware of the traffic problems on the Eastside, though some of the comments on the site point that out, along with the high cost of housing. One Seattleite protests: "Boring!"