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West Coasters: Call home!

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 11:45 a.m.

By Peter Miller

What if the hollowed-out cities of the East Coast set out to lure back their prodigal sons and daughters? What would it take?

The architectural pitfalls of refitting urban churches

Posted Fri, Feb 3, 2 a.m.

By Lawrence W. Cheek

Architects had some triumphs in converting the former First Church of Christ Scientist on Capitol Hill into townhomes, but the difficulties they encountered offer lessons about preservation in the city.

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The fracking truth: Natural gas devastates communities

Posted Thu, Feb 2, 2 a.m.

By Roberta Brandes Gratz

The game's up. Natural gas development on the East Coast is causing environmental destruction of countrysides, farmland, and communities. And that's without even getting into fracking.

Opponents of the Roosevelt Rezone, show your weapons

Posted Fri, Jan 27, 2 a.m.

By Roger Valdez

Community arguments in the wake of the Roosevelt neighborhood's rezoning process lay out a likely roadmap for Seattle's future urban planning debates.

Heritage Turkey Watch

Posted Fri, Jan 27, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

The Kalakala still floats, for now, plus Seattle's plywood "space shuttle," demolition fight in Spokane, and other preservation news.

The plan to preserve Seattle's beloved book sanctuaries

Posted Fri, Jan 27, 2 a.m.

By Robin Lindley

Marcellus Turner, Seattle's new City Librarian, talks about why Seattleites love their libraries and how he plans to keep things that way. Even in the midst of budget cuts.

Sh*t Kent Said

Posted Thu, Jan 12, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Nuggets of wisdom from Seattle's mossback Yoda

Heritage Turkeys of the year

Posted Mon, Jan 9, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Who did most to raze, wreck, uproot, neglect, and generally trash our historic treasures in 2011? The envelopes, please...

Let it rain! says a California transplant

Posted Fri, Dec 30, 2 a.m.

By Laura Kaufman

A refugee reports on her year-long effort to escape the relentless sunshine of South California, snuggling into our damp and bookish town.

Best of 2011: Can neighborhoods matter again in McGinn's Seattle?

Posted Thu, Dec 29, 2 a.m.

By Jordan Royer

The Seattle Model of involving neighborhoods is emulated in much of the world, but it fell from favor here over recent years. Even after making a smart hire for a Neighborhoods director, Mayor McGinn faces big decisions.

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New Orleans is from Venus, Seattle is from....

Posted Wed, Dec 28, 2 a.m.

By Don Fels

This town couldn't be another NOLA and wouldn't want to, but maybe it can learn something about life and living from the battered Big Easy.

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Belltown and Brooklyn: How Seattle misses having kids in an urban center

Posted Tue, Dec 27, 12:45 p.m.

By Bob Royer

Children change the character of a place for the better, but downtown Seattle lacks an essential ingredient for serving families with children: schools.

Solar cooking works, from sunny Brazil to Seattle

Posted Fri, Dec 23, 2 a.m.

By Eric Scigliano

Northeast Seattleites are cooking up momentum for a simple, cost-efficient technology that stops deforestation, greenhouse emissions, and lethal cookfire smoke. Why doesn't it get more respect elsewhere?

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Greyhound may test Seattle's commitment to mass transportation

Posted Tue, Dec 20, 2 a.m.

By C.B. Hall

The bus line is losing its home on the north edge of downtown. Is a move to Pioneer Square's King Street Station the best choice, and perhaps the only way to keep the intercity service in Seattle?

Crosswalk carnage: Why do cops still ignore drivers who won't yield?

Posted Tue, Dec 13, 2 a.m.

By Eric Scigliano

Once again, Seattle Police seem to be targeting jaywalkers and ignoring crosswalk-charging drivers, while collision numbers climb.

Naming Pioneer Square's alleys

Posted Mon, Dec 12, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Cities are moving to reclaim and clean-up urban alleyways, and Pioneer Square is ground zero for Seattle's effort. One thing needed: names.

A new world in South King County

Posted Thu, Dec 8, 2 a.m.

By Eric Scigliano

Welcome to Kent, frontline for the forces transforming America's suburbs: poverty and hardship, global diversity, and exciting new energy and innovation.

The waterfront: keep kitsch alive

Posted Wed, Nov 30, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Here's hoping the waterfront makeover resists attempts to sanitize. Another concern: not turning it into a second Seattle Center.

It takes a village to get a Trader Joe's

Posted Tue, Nov 22, 2 a.m.

By Eric Scigliano

Good luck trying to buy local in Southeast Seattle. With so many people and so much money, why is it a retail desert?

Kent Kammerer: Seattle loses its neighborhood 'Yoda'

Posted Mon, Nov 14, 3 p.m.

By Knute Berger

The late activist and writer loved talking to people, wherever he found them, and he served as ringmaster for a crucial level of civic debate in Seattle.

Neighborhoods and Communities Blog posts

Remembering Kent Kammerer

Posted Wed, Jan 4, 2 a.m.

by Knute Berger

A Jan. 6 memorial at MOHAI for writer, teacher, and neighborhood activist.

Lowe's welcomes Muslims in its stores, but not on reality TV

Posted Mon, Dec 19, 2 a.m. 2011

by Eric Scigliano

The home improvement chain flails around after falling for a Muslim-bashing boycott. Meanwhile, look who's shopping in its Rainier Valley store.

For new urbanites in hard times, small is beautiful

Posted Wed, Nov 23, 6 a.m. 2011

by Eric Scigliano

Seattle leads the way to a rooming-house renaissance. But what about the parking?

Does SDOT have a 'safety culture'?

Posted Mon, Oct 31, 6 a.m. 2011

by Douglas B. MacDonald

Not by the evidence of a casual attention to safety at a repair project in Greenwood, with dozens of kids in the work zone.

Better health for all gets a digital assist

Posted Mon, Oct 24, 9:15 p.m. 2011

by Matt Rosenberg

A new effort, Mapping Our Voices for Equality, has grown out of federal efforts to involve more communities in promoting healthy foods and preventing the dangers associated with smoking.