Doug Trumm

A taiko drum crew is christening the Star Lake Parking Garage and station.

Count me as a fan of this giant lamp sculpture outside Federal Way Station.

"This one billion did not come easy," Maria Cantwell tells the crowd, recounting the legislative delegation's battles with Elaine Chao to unlock federal funding for Federal Way Link.

Look who I ran into on the express bus to Federal Way!

Happy light rail extension day to all who celebrate! @jazzyspraxis.bsky.social

Eddie Lin Becomes Seattle’s Newest Councilmember » The Urbanist # Eddie Lin took office Tuesday as Seattle's newest city councilmember, pledging action to address the city's affordability, homelessness, and community safety crises. Lin is fresh off a dominant perf...

Eddie Lin took office Tuesday as Seattle's newest city councilmember, pledging action to address the city's affordability, homelessness, and community safety crises. Lin is fresh off a strong electoral performance, winning 68% of the vote in District 2.

Story: www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/03/e...

Yes, slower times to Downtown Seattle is definitely a factor.

Federal Way Link Stations Not Seeing a Housing Boom » The Urbanist # Homebuilding activity is anemic near the three Sound Transit light rail stations opening this month in South King County. The Urbanist reviews the 3,000-plus homes in the development pipeline, and e...

NEW STORY // Federal Way Link Stations Not Seeing a Housing Boom

Via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/05/f...

Why It Takes So Damn Long to Build a RapidRide Line » The Urbanist # Corridor-wide bus revamps have been hitting delays and are often taking ten years to deliver, or more. A new King County Metro report released this fall outlines the myriad reasons RapidRide lines f...

Why does it take longer to complete a set of bus upgrades than it took to put a human being on the moon?

A report commissioned by the King County Council and released this fall spells out a long answer to that question

A Sneak Peek at Shared Streets Coming to Seattle » The Urbanist # A trove of documents obtained from City of Seattle through public disclosure requests shows work is proceeding gradually but steadily inside the transportation department to take advantage of Washin...

…in case you’re wondering what’s going on behind the scenes with shared streets…

i like dunkelman’s book as well but this argument really ought to grapple with the fact that trump’s agenda is mired in lawsuits and even the signature parts of it, the deportations, fall far short of the president’s ambitions

First Look at South King County’s Three New Light Rail Stations » The Urbanist # Sound Transit gave reporters a sneak peak at the three new light rail stations set to open in Kent Des Moines, Star Lake, and Downtown Federal Way. Check out the station designs and their custom art...

Three days until Sound Transit extends the 1 Line south to Federal Way: check out the @theurbanist.org's preview of the station designs.
www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/03/f...

Katie Wilson’s Path to Election Victory, Precinct by Precinct » The Urbanist # Precinct-level results maps show that Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson's path to victory ran through Capitol Hill, the Central District, and the Rainier Valley, where she ran up her vote share.

NEW STORY // Katie Wilson’s Path to Election Victory, Precinct by Precinct

Story by Doug Trumm via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/02/k...

The Urbanist is hosting a group ride down to Federal Way next Saturday, starting at Capitol Hill, with a meet-up close to the 1 Line's new terminus.
www.eventbrite.com/e/december-6...

Woulda been better!

YouTube video by ABC CINEMA The Running Man - Arnold vs Ventura

It says a lot about the state of American democracy that this action movie starred two future governors. youtu.be/8DRNsnXCdrM?...

What's this? A new Urbanist podcast? 😉

@metropolitanglide.bsky.social and I talked about this month's election. Fair warning, we could have easily talked for another hour, there was so much to cover.

Urbanist Podcast Election Extravaganza: Puget Sound Progressives Prevail » The Urbanist # The Urbanist Podcast is back after a hiatus, just in time to break down 2025 election results. In this episode, Urbanist publisher Doug Trumm and reporter Amy Sundberg discuss what happened in Seatt...

The Urbanist podcast 🎙️ has returned!!! Tune into 🎧 the latest episode with Amy Sundberg and Doug Trumm.

Episode: www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/27/u...

My latest is all about what we should expect to see in terms of homelessness and public safety when Katie Wilson takes office as Seattle's mayor next year.

Amtrak Breaks Ridership Records Nationally and in Pacific Northwest » The Urbanist # Amtrak's annual ridership was up 5%, hitting an all-time record high of 34.5 million rides nationwide over the last year. Amtrak Cascades also hit a record high, reporting 1.4% growth and coming in ...

NEW STORY // Amtrak Breaks Ridership Records Nationally and in Pacific Northwest

Story by Doug Trumm via @theurbanist.org //🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/24/a...

How Mayor-elect Wilson Can Hit the Ground Running, Walking, Rolling, and Biking » The Urbanist # Seattle Mayor-Elect Katie Wilson’s transportation platform is bold and visionary, and she will need ongoing community support to achieve it. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways shares some ideas on how s...

NEW // How Mayor-elect Katie Wilson Can Hit the Ground Running, Walking, Rolling, and Biking 🏃‍♀️🚶‍♂️👩‍🦽🚴‍♀️🚌

Op-ed by @sngreenways.bsky.social via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/23/h...

Ibsen and Palmer Prevail in Tacoma, Pledging Housing, Safe Streets Push » The Urbanist # Tacoma’s recent election elevated two urbanist-backed progressives, which could buoy efforts to expand housing, roll out street safety upgrades, and improve transit. The Urbanist chatted with Tacoma...

NEW STORY // Ibsen and Palmer Prevail in Tacoma, Pledging Housing, Safe Streets Push

Story by Carolyn Bick via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/22/i...

One week on @theurbanist.org:
-Two original Sound Transit stories
-Two fully reported Seattle budget stories
-Dispatches from both Clyde Hill & Kirkland
-One story about Katie Wilson's transition team
And a book review!

I know I'm biased, but I really think we punch above our weight.

Kirkland Voters Maintain the City’s Course, Rejecting Anti-Growth Push » The Urbanist # Despite significant spending to steer the Kirkland City Council toward a more slow growth direction, voters elected progressives in three out of four races. In the end, the election seemed to show m...

Kirkland's recent council election ended up being a really interesting one as voters rejected a housing backlash slate. @typewriteralley.bsky.social digs into it. www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/21/k...

My latest on how the 2026 Seattle budget (final Council vote on Friday) is not setting Katie Wilson up for success, between its accounting tricks, one-time funding, and CM provisos. Also some details about the federal Continuum of Care changes, which I know many of you have been concerned about.

I'm so excited for The Urbanist to roll into 2026 at full strength, covering new admins at the city and county and major stories elsewhere, including at Sound Transit.

I hope you'll consider joining us at our holiday party to support that work. It's also fun!
www.eventbrite.com/e/the-urbani...

‘Build the Damn Trains’ Campaign Pushes Sound Transit Toward Creative Solutions » The Urbanist # As the Sound Transit board approaches the point of grappling with how to rebalance the entire Sound Transit 3 package, transit advocates are urging them to look for new solutions outside of project ...

NEW STORY // ‘Build the Damn Trains’ Campaign Pushes Sound Transit Toward Creative Solutions

Story by Ryan Packer via @theurbanist.org // 🔗 www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/14/b...

Wilson Defeats Harrell » The Urbanist # Katie Wilson will be Seattle's next year. The progressive challenger expanded her lead over Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell to nearly 2,000 votes in Wednesday's count, and The Urbanist and other local o...

NEW STORY // Wilson Defeats Harrell

Story by Doug Trumm via @theurbanist.org. 🔗
www.theurbanist.org/2025/11/12/w...

We've seen enough. Katie Wilson is the next Mayor of Seattle.

Stack up the victories!!!

🚨🚨 Just in: Katie Wilson has expanded her lead in the Seattle mayor race. She is now leading by 1,346 votes.