[Steve_Seattle]

Seattle is a classic example of this trend in operation. We have:

1. Geographical constraints: Puget Sound, Lake Washington.

2. Liberal political establishment.

3. Severe limits on building in undeveloped areas.

Hence: High housing prices and increased construction of multi-family housing in already-developed areas to protect "our" (elitist) quality of life. Many older single-family neighborhoods are gradually (and not so gradually) morphing into multi-family and mixed apartment/retail areas. Thus traffic congestion has gone from bad to worse.

Yogi Berra might put it this way: "Nobody drives their car in Seattle any more, there's too much traffic."

[Buckeye McFrog]

Recent feature story in the Sunday Pittsburgh Trib:

“Urban Planners: Designing Cities for Hipsters That
You Don’t Want!”