Joshua McNichols
Growth and Development Reporter
About
As KUOW's Growth and Development reporter and co-host of KUOW's Booming podcast, Joshua's "growing pains" beat sits at the nexus of housing, transportation, urban planning, government and the economy. His favorite stories also include themes of history, technology, and climate change.
Joshua holds a B.A. in Architecture from the University of Washington. Public Radio is his second career; architecture was his first. He is proud of the many odd jobs he's held in his life, such as salmon fisher, author, bike courier, and bed-and-breakfast cook.
Location: Seattle
Languages Spoken: English
Pronouns: he/him
Professional Affiliations: The Society of Professional Journalists, Western Washington Chapter
Stories
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Backyard cottages take off in Seattle. But who benefits?
When Seattle made it easier to build backyard cottages in 2019, a lot of people worried that they’d all become Airbnbs. But a survey in a new city report suggests only 11% of them are used in that way.
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Government
Racist covenants excluded many from homeownership. WA lawmakers seek to remedy 'decades of direct harms'
Homebuyers from historically marginalized groups may be getting some help with their down payments. That’s the goal of a bill making its way through the Washington State Legislature.
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Business
Exploring the possibilities of downtown Seattle's uncertain future
Kim Malcolm talks with KUOW's growth and development reporter Joshua McNichols about the possibilities for downtown Seattle, which could mean fewer workers, but many more residents.
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Government
Next steps for Seattle's (passing) social housing initiative
Seattle’s Social Housing initiative is leading by 14 percent and could be certified next week. So what are the next steps?
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What would make you live in downtown Seattle? Residents answer, city listens
One of the big lessons to come out of the pandemic – is that downtowns need people. Not just office workers – but people who live there. But how do you get people to move downtown? That’s a question Seattle officials are grappling with right now. In part 3 of our series “Downtown Reimagined,” KUOW’s Joshua McNichols went looking for downtown residents to find out what’s working, and what’s not.
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From offices to apartments and back: Could transformable buildings help revive downtowns?
All across this region, we have a housing shortage. On the other hand, downtown Seattle is littered with vacant offices. This has some people asking: Why don’t we turn underused office buildings into apartments?
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Business
With office employees gone, downtown Seattle residents became the neighborhood's economic lifeblood
Downtown Seattle was decimated by the pandemic. Office buildings are 22% vacant right now — that’s like one in five towers being dark. But the downtown core is showing surprising signs of life.
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Government
Should rent be stabilized? Washington lawmakers hear the pros and cons
Supporters say the bills would guard against massive rent increases. Critics say the measures would suppress the production of new rentals at a time when the state is already hurting for housing.
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Business
Can Seattle turn underused office towers into apartment buildings?
They’re already doing it in Tacoma. We explore that idea, along with other strategies to get people to move downtown so they can help revive it.
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What is the social housing initiative? You asked, we have answers
Initiative 135 would create a publicly owned developer that builds and preserves affordable housing. KUOW’s Joshua McNichols recently reported on some of the arguments for and against I-135, which is the only item on the Feb. 14 ballot. We received a number of questions about the initiative. We looked into a few of those questions.