News

In a recent interview with KOMO Radio, CSDE Affiliate and Professor of Sociology Kyle Crowder explains the results of a recent study of Seattle’s rental housing market. In that research, Crowder finds that neither renters nor landlords strongly support the city’s rental ordinances, noting: “Renters were often skeptical that the ordinances would have much effectiveness because the general perception is that landlords…

The Northeast Sammamish Water District is trying out earthquake early warning technology at a pumping station that sits on top of a half-million gallons of water. Check the Earthquake Tracker A simulation shows us what would happen if an earthquake were detected by the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. “The earthquake has hit, it’s a 7.5…

One certainty under climate change is that global ocean levels are rising. A new report led by Washington Sea Grant and the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group provides the clearest picture yet of what to expect in Washington state. The report includes projections for more than 150 different sites along the Washington coastline, from…

Public transit systems are lifelines that connect people to jobs, education and opportunity. And students at the University of Washington School of Public Health are working to give Seattle residents a bit more slack. Students met with the Seattle City Council’s Sustainability & Transportation Committee last month to discuss ways to expand access to public…

Seattle City Light and the Mountains to Sound Greenway are planting native trees from warmer climates on 154 acres along Stossel Creek. If Western Washington’s climate warms up in the next half-century, could our trees stand it? As an experiment, Seattle City Light and the Mountains to Sound Greenway have embarked on a test to…

Three health officials on the King County Board of Health are urging the panel to declare homelessness a “public health disaster” and advise local jurisdictions to respond accordingly — including potentially deploying large scale FEMA-style tents as emergency shelter before winter. Two and a half years after both Seattle and King County declared a state of…

All of Sound Transit’s LINK light-rail stations offer opportunities to create vibrant, walkable mixed-use communities with significant amounts of new housing and reduced dependence on automobiles. We need a bold, regional approach to housing affordability, says Rick Mohler, Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, and  Al Levine, Associate Faculty at the Department of Urban Design…

What does your future commute look like? Will you be taking a self-driving car, a solo-wheel, the hyperloop? What about … a self-driving bike? In this episode of ReInventors, Crosscut looks at how Professor Tyler Folsom and his students at University of Washington Bothell are spearheading a grassroots effort to test and develop lighter, more affordable, personal…

Seattle is booming and transportation needs to keep up. Smart cities across the US are exploring new ways to use technology and innovation to combat traffic congestion and create thriving communities with equitable access to transportation. Last fall, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced their New Mobility Playbook: Invitation to Innovators, a call for disruptive…

If a tree falls in the course of urban development and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? A new art project based in South King County aims to ensure the answer is yes — and the sound is a cacophony of arboreal anecdotes. “My goal is to create a…