The Urbanist

Founder of Larch Lab , a design studio and think tank devoted to climate adaptive architecture and urbanism, Mike Eliason holds a wealth of knowledge about how to create buildings that make for denser, more sustainable, more livable cities. In this episode, he uses the same simple language he uses to demystify architecture in his articles for The Urbanist and other publications like Crosscut and T...

Natalie Argerious and Ray Dubicki talk about the 2021-2022 public school year. The kids have a lot of catching up to do. The teachers are trying their best and providing them with social and emotional education that we never got. But is the District actually being helpful? That may not be a passing grade. And there are broader trends that are showing Seattle schools will be losing population in th...

In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I talk transit and mobility. Specifically we take on the thorny question of whether or not transit rider use has recovered from pandemic lows. While it's clear that transit ridership is higher than it was back when we many of us were flattening the curve of Covid infections by staying home and social distancing, societal changes resulting from the pan...

 In this podcast, reporter Ray Dubicki and I dive into the Harrell administration's new homelessness data tracker. We assess how well it is fulfilling its purported role of increasing communication and transparency around this pressing and difficult issue with the public and discuss some of the context around it's creation and whether it is really is the beginning of Seattle's first...

Natalie Argerious and Ray Dubicki open this week's podcast talking about how much the shiny app icons on your phone are deceptive. The apps talk a good game about disrupting an industry and end up leaving a mark on our streets. In the second half, we talk about PayUp Legislation, Seattle's attempt to quantify how much it takes to pay app workers a minimum wage. Want to share your experie...

In this episode, I call in from Nantes, France, to chat with reporter Ray Dubicki about my current trip to Europe. We discuss all kinds of urbanist topics like multimodal transportation, public spaces, how all cities, even walkable European ones, come head to head with bad planning decisions, and of course, bidet culture. Well, that last one is not necessarily an urbanist topic, but it was fun to...

The Ballard Bridge is a 105 year old connection between the industrial Interbay neighborhood and thriving Ballard. With four lanes of moving traffic and completely insufficient sidewalks, it is a barrier to pedestrians. Seattle has plans to replace the bridge, but the proposals focus on car speed rather than neighborhoods. In this episode, Natalie Argerious and Ray Dubicki walk the bridge. The tri...

You've probably heard of the term YIMBY (aka. yes in my backyard), but do you know what differentiates the YIMBY movement in Washington State versus elsewhere in the country?  In this podcast episode, I spoke with reporter Ryan Packer, who traveled to Portland, OR, to moderate a panel discussion at the 2022 YIMBYtown conference and learned a lot how this lively group of pro-housing organizers...

Natalie Argerious and Ray Dubicki talk about why Walt Disney was a pesky kind of utopian, creating expansive visions of walkable traditional cities and then building them off highway exits in California and Florida. We go through some of Walt's actual vision, the influences he drew from shopping malls, and how Disneyland ideas have broken the cities we come back to. Malls and amusement parks...

People love to talk about food, read about food, and -- we hope -- listen to podcasts about food too! In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I kick things off with his article on whether or not Seattle has become a $20 lunch town , dissect the causes and possible ramifications of that trend, and then spin further out to tackle other culinary inspired topics. From the risk to reward ratio of pok...

In this podcast episode, Ray and I discuss the current proposed ballot initiative to create a public development authority (PDA) that would be tasked with constructing and owning mixed-income social housing in Seattle. It's an ambitious plan modeled after social housing elsewhere in the world, notably Vienna, Austria, that was conceived of by the House Our Neighbors! coalition .  This podcast...

In this week's podcast, reporter Ray Dubicki and I tackle a subject that is much more controversial than it initially appears: trees in cities. The City of Seattle recently passed legislation requiring that tree professionals working be licensed . It's a small move, but one that did not go unnoticed, mostly because Seattle has struggled with passing a tree protection ordinance since an i...

A 60-day legislative session might seem like a ridiculously short time to get governing done for the eighth largest economy in the country. Sweden has a full-time legislature, and our GDP is higher than theirs. But who is counting. Washingtonians insist on making life hard for ourselves. In this episode, Managing Editor Natalie Argerious and I are joined by The Urbanist's Executive Director D...

In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I were joined by Doug Trumm, Executive Director of The Urbanist, to discuss the concrete mixer driver strike that's upended the construction sector throughout the fast growing Puget Sound region. The strike kicked off back in December when workers employed by the region's six largest concrete companies voted unanimously in favor of the strike in...

Hello listeners! In this episode, reporter Ray Dubicki and I talk about golf: a sport that continues to leave a large foot print on American cities, despite declining in popularity. The topic has taken on added significance in Seattle in recent years for a few reasons, most notably because of the presence of Jackson Park, a 27 hole golf course and driving range, that will be walking distance to tw...

Covering development for a city like Seattle gives The Urbanist a unique view into the spots where development concentrates. Even so, it’s useful once in a while to step back and ask what this means for a neighborhood. When does a bunch of houses turn into a unique place? And how much can city policy steer that? In this episode, Managing Editor Natalie Argerious and I talk about developments comin...

Provoked by the recent tragic Russian attack on Ukraine, Ray and Natalie discuss a significant, but often overlooked, legacy  of the Cold War. How the fear of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union  was a top contributor to American  highway expansion, urban renewal, and the growth of the suburbs. 

In this episode, Ray and Natalie use the recent news of a planned mixed-use future for the Safeway near Seattle's University Village Mall to do a round up of several Safeway developments bringing housing to Seattle neighborhoods. 

In this episode Ray shares his experience touring guests from LA around Downtown Seattle this past weekend, which leads to a wide ranging conversation between him and Natalie about  what's going on currently in Downtown Seattle and where things may be headed. 

In this episode, your hosts continue to refine their podcasting skills while discussing the demise of Washington State's 2022 missing middle housing bill and the importance of commenting on Seattle's proposed changes to Industrial zones.