Will Reducing Parking Save the Planet? – The Antiplanner
Cities & Planning
Spokane’s Permanent Middle Housing Rules Should Set a Statewide Standard - The Urbanist
Last week, Spokane finalized its year-long effort to legalize more housing choices across the city. Their new code sets a statewide standard, and it should be emulated in cities large and small -- from Seattle and Bothell to Yakima and Vancouver. Recall that under the zoning package passed last year, Spokane gave itself a year
State Issues Draft Middle Housing Guidance and Model Codes - The Urbanist
The Washington State Department of Commerce has released draft guidance and model codes to implement the state's a new middle housing law. The new law will apply to most cities with a population of at least 25,000 residents (and some smaller cities), requiring them to broadly legalize middle housing throughout residential zones. Cities in King,
The problem with conventional lawns (and what could replace them)
Bans on gas-powered lawn equipment are spreading — meanwhile, some advocates are looking for ways to ditch grass altogether.
It’s not just electricity — Bitcoin mines burn through a lot of water, too
Bitcoin’s environmental impact grows as the price rises.
Vital City | When City Streets Really Are War Zones
Young men living in some parts of Chicago would have been safer fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Feeding 8 billion people has changed our planet. Here's why we can't keep doing it the same way
Human history is shaped by our ability to feed ourselves. See how population growth is tied to farmland, and how food production's profound environmental effect shows us the need for change.
What happened to the Great Lakes offshore wind boom? | Grist
This new geothermal plant in the Nevada desert is helping power Google data centers
Google partnered with Fervo, a startup that borrows oil and gas technology to access clean geothermal power almost anywhere.
A first-of-its-kind geothermal project is now operational
Our first-of-its-kind geothermal power project in Nevada is now operational.
Millions of EV Batteries Could Retire to Solar Farms | WIRED
archived 27 Nov 2023 12:53:29 UTC
Giant batteries drain economics of gas power plants
Giant batteries that ensure stable power supply by offsetting intermittent renewable supplies are becoming cheap enough to make developers abandon scores of projects for gas-fired generation world-wide.
The Lower Sioux in Minnesota need homes — so they are building them from hemp
The Lower Sioux nation will soon have the only facility in the country that manufactures hempcrete.
Design Flaws Prompt Changes to Capitol Hill’s Melrose and Pike Intersection - The Urbanist
Bollards are on the way to protect pedestrians. When the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) wrapped up installation in mid-2022 on what had been intended to become Seattle's largest raised street crossing, at Melrose Avenue and East Pike Street in Capitol Hill, reactions to how it turned out were far from positive. Installed as part
The New Paris Métro Is Coming, And It’s A Very Big Deal
The Grand Paris Express is well underway, but will not open in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?
Our garbage heaps are rich in metals and other materials, but landfill mining is rare.
Mossback’s Northwest: The eruption that carved Oregon’s Crater Lake
While Mount Mazama blew its top almost 8,000 years ago, it’s still remembered today by the descendants of its witnesses.
Trolls from Denmark make their mark across Puget Sound | Seattle Weekly
Coastal Salish tribes also embrace the project.
Heat-pump water heaters are a winner for the climate — and your wallet
The tech costs more than conventional options upfront, but federal tax credits, new 120V models and strong savings have made them more appealing than ever.
Hydrogen Ladder Version 5.0
So my lovelies, here it is: Version 5.0 of the Hydrogen Ladder! This is the first major update since Version 4.
No Amount of Money Is Too Much – The Antiplanner
Don't Call Me an "Urbanist"
If You Do, We'll Need to Have A Long Talk
David Byrne’s Reasons to Be Cheerful Is Exactly the Kind of Progressivism That Tanked in Seattle
As everyone must know by now, I'm not a fan of art that begins and ends with quirkiness.
“Who’s Going to Own Adams Morgan?” The Battle Against “Reverse Blockbusting” in 1970s Washington, DC
This is the fourth entry in our Metropolis of the Month for November 2023, Washington, DC. By Timothy Kumfer Standing on the sidewalk with a loudspeaker, Walter Pierce addressed the crowd assembled…
Three Ways to Clean Up the Municipality Mess Around Seattle - The Urbanist
Metropolitan King County has 31 separate jurisdictions orbiting Seattle. Let’s cut that down by a lot.
On the Political Dimensions of Solarpunk
Can the new Tumblr-grown aesthetic break through the smog to change the Twenty-First Century conversation?
Plastic Waste in the Fuel Tank?
Consumer societies produce enough plastic waste to power at least 10% of motorized road traffic. Dutch artist Gijs Schalkx grabbed the opportunity and now drives his car on the plastic waste he collects.
Puget Sound Gateway Project Reveals State’s Lack of Freight Vision - The Urbanist
The State has a role in defining the market for freight and charting emissions reductions with a shift to rail. When the Washington State Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) in 2021, it codified economic decarbonization as the government’s priority. To this end, the law created an ambitious emissions market system with two primary
The incredible shrinking heat pump
An ambitious plan to electrify thousands of apartments.
The circular economy is coming to Europe. Here’s how - Positive News
Three new European policies, from laws on sustainable packaging to textiles, are being rolled out across the continent