News

Two years after the deadliest weather-related disaster in Washington state history, public officials are taking stock. High pressure locked the area in a heat dome for a week, starting June 26. It broke dozens of temperature records, killed hundreds of people and sent hundreds more to hospitals, unprepared for the unprecedented heat, especially so early…

A new research report out of the University of Washington examines data on high-speed rail systems around the world to mine key insights on how a similar undertaking could work in the Cascadia region, a source of considerable investment and opportunity for agencies and private sector partners. The report comes as Washington’s state legislature has…

The dense, white cloud of steam coming out of a dark green building in Centralia has been a constant part of the landscape for more than half a century. Now, the Lewis County town of about 19,000 is getting ready to bid farewell to the cloud source: Washington’s last coal-fired power plant, overlooked by Mount…

A new study of Duwamish Valley residents in South Park and Georgetown shows that more people list environmental impacts as one of their top-three concerns than any other problem facing the area, followed by crime and cost of living. The Duwamish Valley Climate Resilience Survey was a joint project of city agencies, university researchers and community groups…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program has awarded a $2 million grant to a cross-sectoral team comprised of UW’s UPUrban Freight Lab and Open Mobility Foundation, and led by the Seattle Department of Transportation. The award will support implementing data-driven curb space management initiatives to improve access to curb…

This is the third in a series of interviews from Urban@UW highlighting the research of urban scholars at the University of Washington. Urban@UW spoke to Dana Nickson, Assistant Professor in the School of Education at the University of Washington Seattle. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.   What do you do at…

Tony Wang’s truck Yumbit is located on the corner of 6th Avenue and Lenora Street, the shiny heart of what some here playfully call “Amazonia”, after Amazon, the largest employer in the downtown area. And the extra customers that he and similar outlets are scrambling to serve are some of the 55,000 employees Amazon ordered…

Earlier this month, the Population Health Initiative announced the award of a dozen planning grants to University of Washington researchers to support the launch of new climate-focused collaborations. Each of the $10,000 awards will support the funded teams to complete their planning projects during summer quarter 2023, which will be followed by a special autumn…

It’s been a strange few weeks for weather across the US. A dust storm in Illinois earlier this month led to a 72-vehicle pileup that killed seven people. In April, more than 25 inches of rain — 88 billion gallons — drenched Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Wisconsin declared an emergency as more than 80 wildfires ignited…

Members of communities once prohibited from buying homes under racist homeowner agreements, will soon get state homebuying assistance. The law signed last week by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee establishes a new $100 processing fee for homebuyers. The funds raised will help some first-time homebuyers cover down payments and closing costs. Tens of thousands of racially…