Seattle Politics and Urbanism Daily
Seattle’s Reform Tests: Homes, Harm Reduction, Transit, Streets
Thursday, June 25, 2026 · 8 min
Seattle City Council weighs a $6 million Montlake land buy for 50 permanently affordable homes, while King County backs off a harm-reduction cut and World Cup crowds stress-test transit, Pike Place pedestrianization, and Little Saigon enforcement.
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Seattle City Council weighs a $6 million Montlake land buy for 50 permanently affordable homes, while King County backs off a harm-reduction cut and World Cup crowds stress-test transit, Pike Place pedestrianization, and Little Saigon enforcement.
In this episode
- ‘Montlake Homes’ — City making plans for $6M acquisition of 520 surplus property for new ‘affordable homeownership’ project — Capitol Hill Seattle
# ‘Montlake Homes’ — City making plans for $6M acquisition of 520 surplus property for new ‘affordable homeownership’ project Published: 2026-06-24T16:45:07+00:00 Source: capitolhillseattle.com (capitolhillseattle.com) Language: en ## Story The Seattle City Council’s housing committee will consider a bill Wednesday allowing the city to acquire surplus land from the SR 520 expansion and…
- County's Midyear Budget Sparks Controversy Over Harm Reduction, Human Service Contracts, and Lobbyists - PubliCola — PubliCola
# County's Midyear Budget Sparks Controversy Over Harm Reduction, Human Service Contracts, and Lobbyists - PubliCola Author: ericacbarnett Published: 2026-06-24T14:19:28+00:00 Source: publicola.com (publicola.com) Language: en ## Story County's Midyear Budget Sparks Controversy Over Harm Reduction, Human Service Contracts, and Lobbyists -…
- Little Saigon remains troubled a week after Mayor Wilson's open-air drug crackdown begins — KOMO News
# Little Saigon remains troubled a week after Mayor Wilson's open-air drug crackdown begins Published: 2026-06-23T16:42:32-07:00 Source: komonews.com (komonews.com) Language: en ## Story Nearly a week after Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said the city will no longer tolerate open-air drug use and sales in the Little Saigon neighborhood, conditions at the notorious corner of 12th Avenue South and…
- Two match days, 1.1 million boardings, and a new single-day record for Water Taxi ridership – Metro Matters — King County Metro
Two match days, 1.1 million boardings, and a new single-day record for Water Taxi ridership – Metro Matters Mix two match days, add some baseball and include a healthy dose of sunny weather. The result: record ridership as the region continues to choose transit over driving. King County Metro and Sound Transit have released preliminary ridership estimates of 1.1 million boardings systemwide for…
- Sales Were Up at Pike Place After Pedestrian Pilot. Is That...Bad? — The Urbanist
Seattle is buzzing these days thanks to increased activity from the FIFA Men's World Cup, with pedestrian-oriented places across downtown and the broader city seeing major influxes of crowds. With new vehicle-deterring barriers now in place along Pike Place Market on match days, weekends and for major events, the Market has been a major magnet for locals and out-of-towners alike. The pedestrian…