There’s an article in the Seattle Times about the ongoing debate over building height in Pioneer Square.  It is particularly of interest given the Edward Glaeser article on Seattle that Dick linked to yesterday.

One part of Glaeser’s article that I haven’t seen highlighted is the ending:

Seattle has also helped itself by permitting taller structures. That density enables ideas to flow freely. Building up is also an environmentally sensitive alternative to building out, and Seattle’s height helps the city maintain a relatively high level of public transportation use and a relatively low level of carbon emissions.

Sun Belt sprawl isn’t the only model of modern metropolitan success. Skilled, tall cities like Seattle provide an alternative model of urban growth that emphasizes the creation of knowledge.

The Seattle model is particularly important, because the ideas created in skilled cities are likely to be the economic mainstay of America in the next century.

I’m no city-planning expert, but count me in favor of allowing taller buildings around Pioneer Square.  The fewer restrictive height rules, the better.