Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

There's an interesting discussion going on over at Seattle Transit Blog over the region's policies toward suburban job growth.

A "regional growth center" in Silverdale, Washington. Image: Seattle Transit Blog
A "regional growth center" in Silverdale, Washington. Image: Seattle Transit Blog
false

Currently, Seattle region planners designate "regional growth centers," with special rules designed to concentrate new jobs and housing in these areas. Regional growth centers also have an easier time capturing government infrastructure funds.

Seattle Transit Blog's Matthew Johnson pointed out last week that the vast majority of them are in the suburbs -- not the city of Seattle. And Matt Gangemi weighed in this week about public policy that promotes dispersed employment growth:

I argue that this is a backward incentive. Job growth outside of the core is fundamentally poorly served by transit in our hub-and-spoke system (just try to get to Ballard from the East side, or the islands, or even from some places north on transit). But what’s worse is that job growth outside the core helps build sprawl. People choose housing based on a combination of lifestyle, cost, and transportation ease. Make it easier and cheaper to live further from the city, and builders will build further from the city. Every job added to a suburb, even a Regional Growth Center style suburb, potentially adds a home further out into sprawl.

King County should remove this job-based requirement, and let growth centers be centers of residential growth.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Mobilizing the Region offers some striking examples of the absurd lengths our car addiction has taken us to. In honor of Earth Day, Darin Givens at ATL Urbanist explains why being an environmentalist, to him, means living in the city. And Strong Towns says that at the end of the day, planners and advocates should be guided by a conscious effort to create "lovable" places.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines of Many Colors

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called rainbow crosswalks "a distraction" and called on cities to eliminate them.

July 8, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Big and Beautiful

The ginormous GOP tax and spending bill President Trump signed on July 4 will make the air dirtier, a lot of it from tailpipe emissions.

July 7, 2025

The Single Most Important Element In Creating Good Cities

A lot of U.S. cities are getting their "right of way" all wrong — and urbanists can help by getting to know this poorly-understood concept.

July 7, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Charged Up for the Fourth

The Republican megabill is bad for the electric vehicle industry, but it could be worse.

July 3, 2025

Why is the Secretary of Transportation Begging Americans to Take More Road Trips?

Instead of making America easier to see on all modes, the US Department of Transportation is encouraging U.S. residents to just get in their cars and drive.

July 3, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Are for the Children

From mothers with babies in strollers to preteens on bikes, much of the U.S. is hostile to families just trying to get around without a car.

July 2, 2025
See all posts