Futurewise

Fire season is in full swing in WA, threatening communities all over the state. Thanks to your organizing with us, we passed HB 1181, updating the Growth Management Act to ensure that we're planning for wildfire risk as our state grows.

Washington wildfires have closed roads, trails and prompted evacuations More than 70,000 acres have burned in eight fires, according to the state.

Futurewise is hiring a Director of Local Advocacy! Join our team to lead our work on local comprehensive plans. Priority deadline to apply is August 12. Find the full job description on our website!

Coming to a neighborhood near you: duplexes like this rose-framed yellow home in Spokane's Perry neighborhood!

Thanks to HB 1110, middle housing is legalized in neighborhoods all over Washington. More middle housing = more options to find safe, affordable homes for more people.

👀 Keep an eye on your local comprehensive plan update to see how your city is bringing more housing choices to your community. Need help navigating your comp plan process? Reach out to our team!

Calling all women and nonbinary Seattle Urbanistas! Do you care about housing, public transportation, or building walkable cities? Want to meet like-minded folks?

Then come hang out with Seattle Urbanistas this Weds!

RSVP here: https://bit.ly/seaurbanistas

It's that time of year: Washington farms are in full swing to bring fresh produce to your table. Futurewise works with you all over our state to protect farmland from development and ensure we have a reliable, sustainable local food economy.

The Futurewise crew had a blast with our Spokane community this week! Thank you to everyone who joined us at our happy hour meet-up and to all the elected officials and community partners who shared some of your time to meet with us. Our Spokane team is small but mighty, and we're grateful that Michelle and Brooke are backed up by a motivated community of advocates for smart land use in Spokane.

Part two of our series "Why Climate Advocates Should Be Urbanists" in The Urbanist is live! We debunk some common arguments we hear around land use and climate policy and make the case for centering land use in combating climate change. Check it out!

https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/06/22/climate-advocates-should-be-urbanists-part-2/

Spokanites! Come hang with the Futurewise crew next Wednesday. Meet our newest staff member, Brooke Frickleton, Deputy Legal Director, and chat with our local and Seattle staff about what's ahead for the comprehensive plan updates in Spokane.

RSVP here: https://futurewise.salsalabs.org/RSVPFormSpokaneHappyHour62624/index.html

We had the BEST time with all of you last Saturday! Thank you to everyone who joined the 2024 Livable Communities Spring Celebration, from our speakers, our awardees, our guests, and our hosts, 21 Acres. 🎉🎉 See you next year!

It's that time of year: GiveBIG is back! This year, Futurewise needs to raise $7,500 in the next 48 hours. Can you support Futurewise with a GiveBIG gift today?

Donate now: https://www.wagives.org/organization/Futurewise/

One week from today: Anna Letitia Zivarts at Town Hall Seattle presenting her new book When Driving is Not an Option. Futurewise is the community partner for this event and we'd love to see you there! Snag your tickets today.

Anna Zivarts with Barb Chamberlain and Tanisha Sepúlveda | Town Hall Seattle Traffic, parking, gas prices, miles per gallon- many casual concerns might enter your mind when you get into your car and go out into the world. But what happens when your concerns are not casual but constant, and they start with figuring out whether you can even access where you’re trying to go i...

Hot off the press: we're running a new series in The Urbanist about the intersections between land use and climate. Check out the first installment here:

https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/05/03/why-climate-advocates-should-be-urbanists/

We're thrilled to join our partners at Housing Development Consortium for the kick-off of Affordable Housing Week on Monday May 13! Register today to join us for a conversation with Dr. Jenny Schuetz about how to address our housing crisis.

Affordable Housing Week Kick-Off Affordable Housing Week Kick-Off at Bertha Knight Landes Room (Seattle City Hall) on Mon May 13 2024, 09:00am PDT: Join HDC and partners to kick off the...

We’re thrilled to be back again at 21 Acres (21 Acres) in Woodinville for this year’s Livable Communities Spring Celebration! Join us Saturday May 18th for a spring evening on the farm with your favorite land use leaders and advocates. Deadline to snag your ticket is May 10th! RSVP today: link below.

https://futurewise.salsalabs.org/2024LivableCommunitiesSpringCelebration/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=1981ddb9-42ef-4ceb-b325-02ae3a921d24

Breaking news: we're back with a special edition on Wednesday featuring our new Deputy Legal Director Brooke Frickleton! We'll be talking with Tim and Brooke about our King County farmland protection appeal that the state Supreme Court will hear in just a few weeks. You don't want to miss it! Tune in 5/1 at 12 PM on Futurewise's YouTube channel.

No rubber chicken here: past attendees at the Futurewise Livable Communities Spring Celebration know that dinner by Brothers & Co. (Brothers & Co) steals the show every year. Join us May 18th to enjoy best-in-class local food highlighting what Washington farms have to offer. Tickets are going fast, so snag your spot today: link below.

https://futurewise.salsalabs.org/2024LivableCommunitiesSpringCelebration/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=1981ddb9-42ef-4ceb-b325-02ae3a921d24

Join the Complete Communities Coalition for Lunch tomorrow at noon! We will give a brief update and walk through the city's online comprehensive plan portal and share tips for strong comments. Bring your lunch and personal story and we'll see you then!

RSVP here for the link: https://forms.gle/vQPgKZ6ixPuDQmMR6

Announcing our new Deputy Legal Director Brooke Frickleton! 🎉🎉🎉

Brooke will be working out of our Spokane office on the comment letters and legal appeals that are the backbone of Futurewise's work. Please join us in welcoming Brooke to the Futurewise team!

Wahsington gets a shout-out for our recent successes in this recent episode about why it's so dang hard to build new things, especially new housing. Thank you to everyone who worked with us to pass missing middle statewide!

Opinion | A $1.7 Million Toilet and Liberalism’s Failure to Build Jerusalem Demsas discusses the red tape that makes it difficult for blue states to achieve ambitious infrastructure and policy goals.

Recent research from Rocky Mountain Institute shows "addressing America's chronic housing shortage intelligently — by building more housing where most people need it — can deliver similar climate impact as the country's most aspirational transportation decarbonization policy."

Learn more on the most recent Volts podcast episode:

How much can urban land use policy do for the climate? Urbanists like to say that dense, walkable urban land use is a powerful climate tool. But what kind of emissions can urban land use really reduce? What is the scale here? I discuss it with the authors of a recent RMI report on the subject.

The numbers are in: the majority of Seattleites want to see more housing and more retail in their neighborhoods!

Now we need to make sure that the City of Seattle hears your voices as they take comments on the draft comprehensive plan.

Sign up here to get engaged: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVReuJfXn3xjrJWy68U3ZaZTN2abW1tgNuyGLW4FyNuc3Jsg/viewform

We ❤️ the Spokane Six! Spokane is leading the way in allowing gentle density to increase housing opportunity across the city.

As Spokane smashes building permit records, a planned South Hill sixplex offers hints at the city's dense future Last month, the city of Spokane approved plans for a project called the "Spokane Six" — a six-unit apartment building that will be built on...

Washington can lead the way on housing policy with a comprehensive strategy focused on supply, subsidy and stability. Futurewise works with partners like Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Sightline Institute, Housing Development Consortium and others to advocate for this approach at the state and local levels.

No Single Policy Will Increase Housing Affordability. We Need a Comprehensive Strategy. We need both changes in local land-use policy and increases in subsidies for low-income renters to respond to varying housing market conditions.

Futurewise welcomes national leader in pedestrian safety Angie Schmitt to our Livable Communities Spring Celebration! Join us May 18th for a conversation with Angie about how our local comprehensive plans can promote walkability and keep us safe. VIP ticket holders will join a meet & greet and book signing prior to the celebration. Get your tickets today! (Link below.)

https://futurewise.salsalabs.org/2024LivableCommunitiesSpringCelebration/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=1981ddb9-42ef-4ceb-b325-02ae3a921d24

Thank you Sightline for this great round-up of the progress we made this year in the legislature. Congrats on the co-living bill and thank you Reps. Duerr and Bateman for passing HB 2071 to implement last year's middle housing legislation!

Washington’s 2024 Short-Session Housing Wins - Sightline Institute Three innovative bills carry forward the momentum of 2023 and complement its measures to legalize less expensive housing.

"the projects at Sen̓áḵw, Iy̓álmexw and Heather Lands consider the entire community—including those who don’t yet live there, and those often marginalized by city planning, such as renters, non-drivers and, obviously, Indigenous people." 👏👏

Vancouver's new mega-development is big, ambitious and undeniably Indigenous - Macleans.ca In B.C., Indigenous nations are reclaiming power and wealth for their own citizens—no matter what the neighbours think

Futurewise is disappointed to announce the failure of HB 2114 in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means. However, we'd like to thank for their leadership and efforts in furthering rent stabilization during this year's legislative session.

Futurewise is disappointed to announce the failure of HB 2160 in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means. However, we'd like to acknowledge our progress in furthering transit-oriented development (TOD).