Search Results
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Sightline’s Guide to Methods for Electing Legislative Bodies
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Weekend Reading 5/12/17
Eric I highly recommend Andrew Nikiforuk’s piece at the Tyee, where he spells out the findings of a deeply researched report on LNG projects in British Columbia. The analysis, by Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, shows that the province has startlingly few commonsense provisions to protect against terrorism, hazard zones, and numerous other risks posed by large-scale LNG production and shipping operations. Seattle City Councilmember emeritus Nick Licata has published...Read more » -
One Hundred Reasons to Be Thankful
We asked and you delivered. Between our first gift at 12:33 am to our last gift at 11:56 pm, our Sightline donors gave—and gave generously—yesterday during the Seattle Foundation’s annual GiveBIG day of giving. Thanks to (exactly!) 100 sustainability-lovin’ donors, Sightline raised over $17,000 in the span of 24 hours! We are humbled and impressed by how Sightline’s supporters rallied on our behalf yesterday to help create our shared vision...Read more » -
Of Cascadia’s Big Cities, Who’s Tops in Bikeways?
It only takes a few minutes talking to transport honchos in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC, to get a sense of the intense, if friendly, competition among their cities to be king of the cycling hill. But in many ways the three largest urban centers of Cascadia form one big, soggy petri dish of experimentation in bike infrastructure. All three are North American leaders in prioritizing complete streets and bicycle...Read more » -
Weekend Reading 4/28/17
Margaret There is nothing that will make you care about something as much as a little personal investment. I recently came across this amazing list titled 101 small ways you can improve your city. Reading through it, it’s more like 101 ways you can love your city. My goals: set up a little free library and install a homemade bench near my bus stop. Next year I am building a...Read more » -
Weekend Reading 4/7/17
Alan Dave Roberts’ long article about the rise of what he calls “tribal epistemology” is my lead pick for what you should read. In tribal epistemology, Information is evaluated based not on conformity to common standards of evidence or correspondence to a common understanding of the world, but on whether it supports the tribe’s values and goals and is vouchsafed by tribal leaders. “Good for our side” and “true” begin...Read more » -
Weekend Reading 3/24/17
Alan I sat and cried when I read about the large sections of Australia’s Great Reef that are now dead. A mysterious force—call it God, call it the universe—brought us into being on an orb enchanted with life: a miraculous sphere of unimaginable wonders, spinning in the black void of space. Surely, if anything is sacred, it is our home planet. A big part of the solution to the carbon...Read more » -
Seattle’s Flawed Plan for Mandatory Housing Affordability Would Suppress ‘Missing Middle’ Housing
This article is part of a series on Seattle’s proposed Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program. Previously, I identified inconsistencies in the proposal and presented case studies (here and here) on two key housing types. In both cases, MHA would suppress homebuilding and backfire on the city’s affordability goals. Next up: apartments in MHA’s low-rise upzones. In Seattle urban planner-speak, “low-rise” means modest-scale multi-family housing such as townhouses, rowhouses, and small—3...Read more » -
How to Fix Seattle’s MHA Proposal For U District Highrises
In previous articles on Seattle’s proposed Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) program, I explained the program’s theory and risks, gave a broad critique of the math, and presented a case study of MHA for two types of mid-rise buildings, finding that MHA as currently drafted would suppress homebuilding and jeopardize the city’s affordability goals. Today: MHA’s high-rise upzones. Seattle plans soon to launch MHA in the University District (U District), where...Read more » -
Weekend Reading 1/27/17
Alan Some of Sightline’s staff, fellows, and I have been reading voraciously and swapping articles as we try to draw the right lessons from the November US elections. We must have circulated, read, and debated a hundred articles as we sought to understand the implications of the astounding events to Cascadia’s east. Today, my personal highlights from this reading blitz, starting with pieces from inside the blue bubble: George Packer...Read more »