ashley's blog

About the Author: Randall Olsen is an attorney at the Buck Law Group ( a Northwest Hub sponsor), which is a land use, environmental, dispute resolution, and civil litigation firm based in downtown Seattle. Randall's practice focuses primarily on City of Seattle land use disputes and general civil litigation. You can reach him by sending an email to rolsen@bucklawgroup.com.

A new computer algorithm—developed at the University of Washington—is capable of reconstructing and digitizing an entire city from thousands of tourist photos in just one day.

In 21 hours, the algorithm analyzed 150,000 photos tagged with Rome or Roma on Flickr and combined them to create a 3-D digital model of the city. With the model, viewers can look at Rome’s landmarks such as the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and the Sistine Chapel.

Sound Transit is holding a groundbreaking for the new Kirkland Transit Center on Oct. 20.

Join Northwest Hub and Seattle Transit Blog on Thursday, Oct. 8 for a lively discussion about transit-oriented development (TOD). We'll hear from local design firm, Case Design + Project Management, about the opportunities and challenges of building TOD in South Seattle.

Next week, those interested in the future alignment of Sound Transit's East Link light rail line will have ample opportunity to hear about the status of the route selection process in Bellevue.

The people behind Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE), a new 2,047-seat theater planned for Bellevue, have filed an application for design review with the city. An application for environmental review has been filed as well.

Seattle's Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will be hosting two free landslide awareness meetings for city residents to learn how to protect their property from landslides. Landslides, which are common in Seattle, develop gradually through normal erosion and weathering or develop more suddenly after earthquakes and torrential rains.

Most people would agree: Commuting to work is no fun. Yet according to a survey released by IBM Corp. last month, most people aren't quite willing to give up their cars and try something different.

The Northwest isn’t the only region undergoing serious budget cuts to planning and neighborhood development departments. Natchez, Miss., a city of about 20,000, will soon find itself with a completely empty Planning and Zoning Department. City planner John Lewis and two other employees were laid off last week, and the department’s sole remaining employee, Darlene Lewis, will retire on Oct. 14.

The Transportation Research Board hosted a webinar Tuesday that highlighted local efforts to address climate change in land use and transportation planning.