Posted Fri, Apr 27, 4:26 p.m.

The person who signed himself or herself "thoughts" wrote as follows: "The article doesn't call for a protection of neighborhood character. Rather it calls for a different approach to the GMA and density." QUESTION -- What is that approach? If the article is not calling for protecting neighborhood character, then ...

Posted Wed, Apr 25, 2:41 p.m.

In 1961 Jane Jacobs argued for neighborhoods with a mix of older buildings, including some run-down buildings, for economic reasons. She pointed out that odd ethnic restaurants, bookstores, unusual galleries, etc., could not survive in new construction because the price for space in new buildings was too high. She noted ...

Posted Fri, Mar 9, 12:07 p.m.

General Zod?

Posted Mon, Dec 19, 3:41 p.m.

Re: School Board Many Seattle citizens may not know who are the reformers on the School Board and who are not. They may simply have voted against incumbents because of all the schools financial issues that seem to be in the news fairly regularly. Enfield may have resigned due to ...

Posted Fri, Oct 28, 7:26 p.m.

What Knute does not mention is that the downtown leadership crowd of that era took the wrong lessons from their success of the 1962 World's Fair and tried to apply them to urban renewing Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market out of existence.

Posted Fri, Oct 28, 7:04 p.m.

Knute compares the Space Needle suggests permitting a typical high-rise condo today would take more time. He's absolutely correct, but not entirely for the reasons he states. A typical high-rise condo contains many units of residential living space and has a wide variety of complex spaces, an extraordinary number of ...

Posted Wed, Oct 26, 11:10 a.m.

Seattle claims to be aiming at a sustainable future. If so, why not offer a proposition where car tabs are proportional to vehicle weight as many other places do? The amount of wear and tear on the roads is proportional to vehicle weight; the amount of energy it requires to ...

Posted Wed, Oct 19, 11:25 a.m.

It's unfortunate that Mike James misstatement of history received an "Editor's Pick." In fact, the decision to open Pine Street was made by voters. Further, Nordstrom's did not say it would not occupy the old Frederick & Nelson building; rather Nordstrom's said its store would be smaller if Pine Street ...

Posted Tue, Oct 18, 7:55 p.m.

Unfortunately Mr. Scigliano confuses portions of the history of Westlake. The proposal to close Pine Street originated in the early proposal to create a four-block pedestrianized superblock--the kind of pedestrian-only mall that failed in almost every city that tried it (for the reasons, see writings by William H. Whyte). Thereafter, ...

Posted Thu, Sep 22, 3:35 p.m.

Since vehicles wear out roads, consume fossil fuels, and spew out pollutants largely in proportion to their weight, why isn't the proposed car tab tax proportional to vehicle weight? I know the cost of car tabs in some other states is proportional to vehicle weight. If Seattle is pursuing "green" ...

Posted Thu, Sep 22, 9:16 a.m.

The argument that the current economic condition of Pioneer Square is due primarily to the building of the football stadium seems highly problematic. The Kingdome occupied nearly the same footprint as the present stadium, and hosted as many football games (8 regular season, 2 preseason) annually. The economics of Pioneer ...

Posted Wed, Jun 15, 9:20 a.m.

Knute's essay is interesting, but needs balance. First, since Jane Jacobs's book, DEATH AND LIFE OF GREAT AMERICAN CITIES, American urbanism has generally moved away from isolated collections of buildings in large superblock developments, and has returned to the urbanism of mixed-use streets (with all modes of travel--pedestrians, bicycles, transit, ...

Posted Wed, May 18, 5:27 p.m.

Some notes about various comments: 1) In response to E. Carlson: Every architect who has graduated from the professionally accredited Master of Architecture program at the University of Washington since about 1990 has encountered William H. Whyte (as well as Jane Jacobs, etc.). I know because I teach the required ...

Posted Wed, Apr 13, 7:54 p.m.

In the last fifteen years the Pioneer Square District has seen considerable new investment. Buildings that ten to fifteen years ago were in deteriorating condition have been restored on the exteriors and rehabilitated on the interiors; examples include the Terry-Denny Building, the Oriental Building/Corona Hotel, the Washington Shoe Building, and ...

Posted Thu, Feb 10, 9:18 a.m.

One problem with this essay is the lack of any concrete details or clear definitions. For example, what (exactly) does the following sentence mean? "We believe that the division between public and private realms is conceptual not physical, and that we can build cities that allow every resident or visitor ...

Posted Fri, Jan 28, 3:33 p.m.

I am not certain about the "trail" idea. Does one's visit to Pioneer Square need to be so choreographed? Given the multiple layers of history, and the fact that many visitors may not know where to begin, perhaps a series of interpretive signs that one would encounter along the sidewalks ...

Posted Mon, Nov 29, 8:03 p.m.

A minor correction: Stuart Silk writes: "Pioneer Square’s designation as a National Register Historic District protects all of its many historic buildings permanently. This removes from development opportunities the vast majority of the sites in the core of the district." I believe he is correct that the area is protected, ...

Posted Fri, Nov 26, 4 p.m.

The part of this that makes no sense is that the City claims Building 30 is unsafe, so they are limiting the number of events in the Building. If Building 30 is safe enough for some events, why is it not safe for others? If Building 30 is unsafe, isn't ...

Posted Mon, Jun 28, 6:58 p.m.

In my previous comment, the last sentence would have been better worded: As far as I am aware, research has not uncovered any references by Seattle architects to Vancouver modern architecture before World War II.

Posted Mon, Jun 28, 6:55 p.m.

Diana: Thanks for your comments. My response was directed at the question of the degree to which Paul Thiry "introduced" architectural modernism to Seattle. Your question is a different one--the extent to which modern architecture in Northwest cities influenced each other or developed independently. This is a much more challenging ...

Posted Thu, Jun 24, 8:17 p.m.

While I always appreciate attention to the architectural history of Seattle, this article perpetuates the myth that "Thiry was the architect who introduced modernism to Seattle in the 1930s." Research in the period indicates that the actual story of how modern architecture came to Seattle is much more complex. First, ...

Posted Thu, Jun 24, 8:36 a.m.

William H. Whyte wrote that the key to successful urban space is concentration of activity. If things get too spread out then spaces look empty and are perceived as failures since what attracts people in cities is activity (other people) not empty space. This is why so many pedestrian malls ...

Posted Tue, Jun 8, 2:56 p.m.

The Growth Management Act is essentially a policy document, not enforceable relative to specific local land use decisions. I understand that Washington State courts have regularly held that the GMA, like various municipalities' Comprehensive Plans, sets general rules and guidelines, but unless specific ordinances are passed by a municipality, the ...

Posted Wed, Jan 6, 7:26 p.m.

Knute's article is somewhat "beside the point." The issue isn't whether suburbs are growing, it's what pattern of land use, density and access to transportation do the new suburbs have. If the new suburbs are planned as conventional suburban development with cul-de-sacs, lack of sidewalks, large lots, disconnected streets, etc., ...

Posted Wed, Jul 29, 11:34 a.m.

mchutch: As far as I am aware, there is no ordinance that seeks to prevent a homeowner from renting his/her property and living elsewhere. The DADU ordinance as proposed, however, has a provision that says the owner of the property must live in either the main house or the DADU ...

Posted Mon, Jul 27, 7:46 p.m.

This city says it will require that one owner own both the main house and the backyard cottage and live in at least one of the buildings 6 months each year. How can such a requirement be enforced? What is to prevent an owner from renting both a house and ...