Apr 9, 2021An Update on Mighty HouseLast month we authorized the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, to use the balance of our funding to build tiny houses for people experiencing homelessness. This funding was originally intended to be used for the construction of Mighty Houses, but the COVID-19 pandemic created huge impediments…Tiny House2 min readTiny House2 min read
May 29, 2020Seattle Must Reform Homeless Encampment RulesRemovals of homeless encampments, often called “sweeps,” cause both economic harm and severe emotional trauma for people who are living unsheltered. Here in Seattle, the controversial practice is carried out by the Human Services Department and the Navigation Team and has not proven to be effective at connecting people with…Cities16 min readCities16 min read
Feb 22, 2020Seattle Expands Transitional Homeless EncampmentsOn Tuesday, the Seattle City Council passed legislation that increases the number of tiny house villages that may be permitted within the City. The bill, introduced in draft form last August but delayed by State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) appeal, was sponsored by Councilmember Kshama Sawant. The new legislation makes…Homeless5 min readHomeless5 min read
Feb 17, 2020Seattle Should Expand Sanctioned Homeless EncampmentsTomorrow, February 18th, Seattle City Council will vote on Council Bill 119656, legislation that would loosen restrictions on sanctioned homeless encampments. The following is an endorsement of that bill written on behalf of AIA Seattle. Official endorsement is here. …Seattle3 min readSeattle3 min read
Published inAge of Awareness·Dec 9, 2019Homelessness in America’s MetrosIt was an early 2:00am morning in January of 2018, and the four of us were driving from Seattle to a church in Bellevue, a nearby city on the other side of Lake Washington. There, in a crowded gymnasium stocked with coffee, bagels, and bananas, we were given a map…Homeless8 min readHomeless8 min read
Oct 25, 2019Seattle City Council Elections: The Candidates in Their Own WordsCo-authored by Emily Darling, Alexander Froehlich, and Anton Dekom. With election day fast approaching, races for seven of Seattle’s nine City Council seats are entering the final stretch. Over the last weeks and months, many of the candidates have described their positions at in-person candidate forums and in online questionnaires…Homeless44 min readHomeless44 min read
Oct 12, 2019A Blueprint for Homeless AdvocacyFor the past year the Committee on Homelessness (COHO) has been working on crafting AIA Seattle’s positions and priorities related to local homeless policy. I’m happy to announce that that effort recently concluded with AIA’s board of directors voting to approve COHO’s policy statement on September 19th. A lot of…Homeless7 min readHomeless7 min read
May 6, 2019Why Architects Should be Advocates for the HomelessWhat follows is an excerpt from a letter that I wrote to AIA Seattle’s Public Policy Board (PPB) back in March as part of a process (that is still ongoing) to develop a stronger “policy statement” related to the homelessness crisis in our region. Whereas the policy statement itself is…Homeless8 min readHomeless8 min read
