Evolving

Seattle’s
Growth
Strategy
A White Paper by the
Seattle Planning Commission

Winter 2020
 Contents
How to evolve the growth strategy.................................................................................. 3

Addressing the history & legacy of racial inequity.......................................................... 5

Affordability, climate change, and livability..................................................................... 9

Growth and affordability.................................................................................................. 9

Growth and climate change............................................................................................. 12

Growth and livability......................................................................................................... 14

A vision for Seattle’s future.............................................................................................. 17

Seattle's Urban Villages

Broadview/
Bitter Lake Urban Center
Lake City

Northgate
Hub Urban Village
Aurora-
Licton
Springs
Residential Urban Village
Crown Hill

Greenwood- Green Lake

Phinney
Ballard Ridge
Roosevelt

Wallingford

Fremont University
District

Upper Eastlake
Queen
Anne

Uptown South Lake Madison

Union -Miller
Down- First
town Hill \
Capitol 23rd &
Hill Union-
Jackson

Mt Baker
Admiral
North
Beacon
West Hill Columbia
Seattle City
Junction

Morgan Othello
Junction

Source: Seattle South Rainier

Park Beach
Office of Planning
and Community
Development Westwood-
Highland Park

2 | Seattle Planning Commission

 Photo: Seattle Parks and Recreation

After 25 years, how should

Seattle’s growth strategy evolve?
For two and a half decades Seattle and the Puget having many amenities that would support a
Sound Region have been growing. The pace of higher quality of life for new neighbors.5 This
growth has accelerated over the past decade, has disproportionately affected low-income
with Seattle adding over 138,000 residents, since communities, and communities of color, where
2010, today approaching an estimated 747,300.1 many have been priced out of neighborhoods
Such rapid growth means that policies guiding that have absorbed nearly all of the recent
development have immediate impacts on Seattle’s development.6 These circumstances create an
affordability, climate readiness, and quality of life. inconsistency between the City’s commitments
to reverse trends of racial inequity and the
Policies relating to growth are shaped by the documented outcomes of City policies.7 8 This is a
Comprehensive Plan’s growth strategy, which failing of the growth strategy in its current form,
concentrates nearly all residential and mixed-use and falls well short of achieving the Seattle Race
new construction into designated areas of the city and Social Justice Initiative’s goal to be a racially
referred to as Urban Villages (see map on previous equitable and environmentally sustainable place
page). These are locations with access to frequent for all.9
transit and commercial services. This strategy has
been successful in some regards. For example,
locating people in close proximity to transit tends
to encourage its use. Indeed, Seattle now has one What is Comprehensive Planning?
of the highest rates of per capita transit ridership
and is the only city in the country with expanding Comprehensive plans describe high level
per capita ridership.2 3 However, there are negative goals and contain information about how
consequences as well. We continue to see stark racial and where development will happen
inequities in homeownership, employment, and in the city. They also describe how the
health outcomes throughout the city.4 City will support current and future
residents through open space, utilities,
Construction and permitting data show that Urban human services, etc. Cities in Washington
Villages have added development and invited new State are required to adopt updated
neighbors, while areas outside of Urban Villages Comprehensive Plans every eight years.
have been mostly shielded from growth, despite

1. Goldman, M. (2019, July 1). 2019 Population Estimates Have Seattle Pushing 750,000 with Steady Growth. The Urbanist.
2. Puget Sound Regional Council. (2018, June). Puget Sound Trends.
3. TransitCenter. (2019, February 11) Who’s on Board 2019: How to Win Back America’s Transit Riders.
4. Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan: Managing Growth to Become an Equitable and Sustainable City.
5. Seattle Planning Commission. (2018, December) Neighborhoods for All.
6. Ibid.
7. Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan: Managing Growth to Become an Equitable and Sustainable City.
8. Puget Sound Regional Council. (2018, June). Vision 2050: Housing Background Paper.
9. Seattle 2035 Comprehensive Plan: Managing Growth to Become an Equitable and Sustainable City.

Seattle Planning Commission | 3

 SEATTLE: THEN & NOW
As the City begins laying the groundwork for the
next update of the Comprehensive Plan due in
2023, the Planning Commission believes it is critical 1994 2018
to evaluate the ways in which the current growth 516,259 744,955
strategy should evolve to address persistent Total Population
racial inequities. Without intentional, targeted
actions that repair historic and present harms, the
enduring nature of racial inequities ensures they 1990 2018
will be perpetuated. 20 Min. 27.5 Min.

The update of the Comprehensive Plan will include Median Commute Time
revisiting many aspects of the City's work. We focus
this paper on three key areas that can promote 1990 2019
racial equity, while shaping the future of a thriving,
sustainable city: *$293,283 $723,300

Median house price

1. Housing affordability. With Seattle rapidly
becoming unaffordable to all but the highest
earners, the next growth strategy must ensure
Seattle welcomes people of all incomes. 1990 For
Rent
2019
*$981 $2,591
2. Climate Change. Slowing, mitigating, and
adapting to the impacts of climate change Median rental cost
must be the foundation for decisions about our
transportation networks and land use patterns.
1994 Now
2018
3. Livability. Seattle will continue to get denser as 428,590 Hiring 602,142
we grow. The City cannot be a passive bystander Employment
but must take an active role in ensuring that our
neighborhoods become even more livable-- and
not less. More on what we mean by this in the 1994 2018
following pages. 26% %
Percent of population
31%

who are people of color

1990 2018
31% 61%
Percent of population with
bachelors degree or higher

1997
*$3,366 $
Cost for 1 year of
2019
$11,207

in-state college tuition

1980 - 1990 2010 - 2019

4.5% 22.7%
Population growth rate

*2019 dollars
4 | Seattle Planning Commission
Addressing the history
& legacy of racial inequity

A vision of a sustainable and racially equitable ■■ Ten years later, the City passed an Ordinance
future must begin with an honest look at current prohibited indigenous people from living
conditions, and the actions that brought us within the city.11
here. Achieving racial equity requires a deep
understanding of the complex systems that have ■■ During the same decade, many Chinese
produced racial inequities. While many of today’s immigrants arrived in Seattle, helping build
inequitable systems are inherited, it is nonetheless railroads that were essential to Seattle’s
our responsibility to understand them, and to economy, importing and exporting goods.
identify and enact remedies. The Federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
banned Chinese people from entering the
The land known today as the City of Seattle is the US and deported any who arrived after
traditional and current territories of the Coast Salish 1880. It also prohibited Chinese people from
people. The Coast Salish people still live on this owning property, which impacted their ability
land, but the land is now managed and controlled to prosper in Seattle.12 The Immigration Act
primarily by Western systems of governance. As of 1924 had the same impact on Japanese
colonial settlers occupied the land around the Salish Americans, prohibiting them from immigrating
Sea and displaced many of the indigenous people, to the US. Additionally, during this time Alien
they created and enforced ways of using land that Land laws prohibited immigrants from owning
benefited settlers, often at the expense of people property, which negatively impacted Chinese,
living here before them. Many Western systems of Japanese, Korean, Indian, and other South Asian
power and control explicitly excluded indigenous communities.13
people and people of color from owning property
and accessing resources in many areas of the city.
“Be it ordained by the Board of
Below is a list of some of the racially discriminatory Trustees of the Town of Seattle, That
policies whose lasting effects we must address. no Indian or Indians shall be permitted
While this list is far from comprehensive, it captures to reside, or locate their residences on
key decisions and policies that promoted inequity: any street, highway, land, or alley or
any vacant lot in the town of Seattle”
■■ The Point Elliott treaty (signed in 1855, ratified
by the US Federal Government in 1859) -City of Seattle Ordinance, 1865
conveyed lands of the Coast Salish people to the
United States Government.10

10. HistoryLink. (2000, January). Treaty of Point Elliott, 1855.

11. Ott, Jennifer. (2014, December). Ordinance No. 5, calling for the removal of Indians from the town. HistoryLink.
12. Unknown. (Unknown). The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Washington State Historical Society.
13. Grant, N. (2017). White Supremacy and the Alien Land Laws of Washington State. The Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project.

Seattle Planning Commission | 5

 ■■ At the turn of the century, cities began to use were denied the opportunity to access GI funds
zoning as a new tool to designate where people that would have helped them purchase homes.21
could live and own property based on the
use of the property, as well as the person's ■■ The use of racially restrictive covenants also
race.14 Seattle worked closely with city planner blocked people of color from owning homes.
Harland Bartholomew to write the City’s first Covenants on the deeds of homes prevented
zoning plan in 1923.15 While working in St. sale to people of color, and in many cases
Louis, MO, Bartholomew had previously stated prevented them from renting or occupying
that the purpose of zoning was to prevent homes (unless they were employed by white
“colored people” from moving into the “more residents). Covenants were eventually ruled
desirable residential neighborhoods.”16 By the unenforceable in 1948 by the US Supreme
time Seattle’s zoning plan was adopted, the Court.22
Supreme court had ruled that racial zoning was
illegal. However, cities responded to these legal ■■ Less explicit, but still resulting in inequitable
changes by removing language about race while impacts, the construction of transportation
continuing to use the substance of the laws that infrastructure (in particular, freeways in the
promoted segregation.17

■■ In the 1930s the Home Owner’s Loan

Corporation (a government-sponsored Seattle homeownership
corporation) drew redlining maps for over 200 rates by race & ethnicity
cities, including Seattle, that dictated which (2016, American Community Survey 5-year estimates)
neighborhoods could receive home loans. Areas
where people of color were the predominant 51% White
residents were labeled “hazardous” and the
Federal Housing Administration denied loans in 44% Asian
those neighborhoods.18 This was not made illegal
until the 1968 Fair Housing Act.
27% Other & two or
more races
■■ Another federal policy that impacted the
prosperity of Seattle’s communities of color was 26% American Indian
the Japanese American Internment in 1942 & Alaskan Native
(Executive Order 9066).19 Over 7,000 of Seattle’s
25% Hispanic
Japanese American residents were interned in (any race)
concentration camps, the majority of whom
were never able to recover the property or 24% Black or African
possessions they were forced to leave behind.20 American

■■ The Federal Government further perpetuated 19% Native Hawaiian

& Other Pacific
segregation through the G.I. Bill of 1944, in Islander
which black military veterans across the nation

14. Wilson, M. H. (2019, May 21). The Racist History of Zoning Laws. Foundation for Economic Education.
15. A Zoning Program for Seattle, Prepared by Harland Bartholomew 1921. Record Series 1651-02 Box 1, Folder 1. Seattle Municipal Archives.
16. Rothstein, R. (2014, October 15). The Making of Ferguson. Economic Policy Institute.
17. Rothstein, R. (2017). The Color of Law. New York, NYLiveright Publishing Corporation.
18. Nelson, K. R. (unknown). Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America. Retrieved from https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/
redlining/#loc=4/36.71/-96.93&opacity=0.8&text=bibliography.
19. Speidel, J. (2005). After Internment. The Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project.
20. Varner, N. (2017, April 4). Sold, Damaged, Stolen, Gone: Japanese American Property Loss During WWII. Densho Blog.
21. Callahan, D. (2013, November 11). How the GI Bill Left Out African Americans. Demos.
22. Silva, C. (unknown). Racial Restrictive Covenants: Neighborhood by neighborhood restrictions across King County. The Seattle Civil Rights &
Labor History Project.

6 | Seattle Planning Commission

 1960s) have regularly been built in areas where current growth strategy are worthy of a deeper
people of color were the majority of residents. and more complete analysis than we can perform
This was especially common in Chinatowns here. The City’s Growth and Equity analysis in 2016
nationwide. Seattle’s Chinatown-International made visible many existing disparities that have
District is an example of this, having been been reinforced by the far-reaching impacts of
disrupted by the construction of several the existing growth strategy. It is our intention to
infrastructure projects, including I-5, later I-90, suggest opportunities for a growth strategy more
and a transit station. Planning has begun for aligned with the goal of achieving racial equity in
a new light rail station within the Chinatown-
International District.

These (among other policies and practices) denied

What does it mean to
people of color access to home ownership, which achieve racial equity?
is the country’s most robust tool for wealth
building. By the time most forms of explicit racial
discrimination became illegal during the late
In 2005, the City of Seattle
1960s, these policies had already contributed
to an inequitable access to wealth over several began the Race and Social
generations, leaving white people with more Justice initiative (RSJI), which
access to housing, political power, and a wide has the long-term goals of
array of other benefits from the systems put “changing the underlying
in place. This has caused lasting racial and system that creates race-based
economic inequities that we see today, reinforced disparities in our community
segregation, and created barriers for people of and to achieve racial equity.”
color to benefit from the city’s economic growth.23
An example of racial inequity
Certainly, not all racial discrimination comes from comes from a report by the
past practices. There are also ongoing forms of Seattle Women’s Commission,
racial discrimination in housing, one of which Losing Home, which showed
was studied by the Seattle office of Civil Rights
that over half of the individuals
(SOCR) in 2014. After testing 42 rental properties,
SOCR found that 64% of them “showed evidence with evictions filed against them
of different treatment” based on race.24 These were people of color in 2017,
findings point to an ongoing need for proactive even though people of color are
policy and enforcement that extent beyond a less than a third of Seattle’s
developing additional housing units. total population. If racial equity
was achieved in Seattle, it would
Despite expressing intent to address racial inequity, mean that race would not be
Seattle’s existing land use and transportation able to predict one’s outcomes.
policies and practices have done little to dismantle For that example, it would mean
the legacy of segregation and racial injustice. In race wouldn’t predict one’s
some cases, there are inequities that appear to likelihood of being evicted.
be perpetuated by the current growth strategy.
This suggests that the racial equity impacts of our

23. Traub, A.,Et al. (2016, June 21). The Racial Wealth Gap: Why Policy Matters. Demos.
24. Seattle Office of Civil Rights. (2014). City files charges against 13 property owners for alleged violations of rental housing discrimination.
25. City of Seattle Office of Community Planning and Development. (2016). Seattle 2035 Growth & Equity: Analyzing Impacts on Displacement
and Opportunity Related to Seattle’s Growth Strategy.

Seattle Planning Commission | 7

 Seattle Streetcar, University Way, 1939. Photo: HistoryLink

Historical distribution of Seattle’s growth

In the early 1890’s Seattle established electric streetcar lines. Financial pressures and the
introduction of the personal automobile contributed to the eventual decommissioning of the
streetcar in the early 1940s. Maps of the network at its full extent show lines crisscrossing the
city and traveling into neighborhoods, which helped cultivate the vibrant communities now living
there.

Today, public transit to these areas is provided by King County Metro bus service, and
neighborhood businesses built along the transit networks are supported by the density of
neighbors made possible partly by small-scale multi-family housing built before the City restricted
development to only allow single, detached homes.

8 | Seattle Planning Commission

 Photo by Jachan Devol on Unsplash

Affordability, climate
change, and livability

The growth strategy is an element of the City’s By identifying some of the limitations of the current
Comprehensive Plan, originally developed in growth strategy in the three broad categories of
1994. The strategy manages the projected growth affordability, climate change, and livability, as well
that Seattle is directed to accommodate per the as noting opportunities to improve in those areas,
Washington State Growth Management Act. In the we hope to support the City’s efforts to realize
past quarter century the growth strategy has had the equitable vision of the Comprehensive Plan.
small revisions through updates and amendments Opportunities for advancing the City's work in these
to the Comprehensive Plan, without substantially focus areas are also emerging as we approach the
changing its intent, administration, or outcomes. unprecedented investments in light rail that will
Since it was developed, the strategy has affected connect West Seattle to Ballard. That work will
Seattle's racial segregation, housing affordability, transform a large portion of the city, and could be
environmental quality, infrastructure investments, harnessed to great effect for many of the strategies
transit access, carbon emissions, access to jobs and we advocate for in this paper.
services, displacement, and more.
The growth strategy & affordability
During the 25 years since adopting the growth
Coded language strategy, the median price for a single-family home
increased dramatically. The median home price
The 1994 growth strategy explains that the in 1990 was $293,283 (in 2019 dollars), and it has
“preferred development pattern” is one increased to $723,300 as of early 2019, making it
that “maintains and enhances Seattle’s two and half times more expensive to purchase
character.” Terms such as “neighborhood a home in 2019.26 During that same time, median
character” are problematic, as many rents (across all housing types measured together)
people assume a meaning that extends have increased from $981 (in 2019 dollars) per
month to just over $2,500 per month.
beyond architectural aesthetic and scale,
ultimately prompting people to also Between 2006 and 2017, Urban Villages have
think about the type of person that lives accommodated 28,240 of the 35,300 new
in a neighborhood, potentially fueling housing units-- 80% of the city’s recent housing
discrimination. growth. In that same time, areas that are
zoned single-family (which make up 75% of the
residential land) only received 6% of the new

26. Zillow Average Housing Cost Estimate. (2019, April).

27. Seattle Planning Commission. (2018, December). Neighborhoods for All.

Seattle Planning Commission | 9

development.27 Concentrating development to
only a small portion of the residential land yields Net New Units in Seattle by Type
an inequitable distribution of the impacts of Single-family and Accessory Dwelling Units account
growth and limits the effectiveness of the Urban for only 6% of net new units from 2006-2017
Village growth strategy as a means to promote
livable and sustainable neighborhoods across the
city. While the current growth strategy creates
opportunities for new housing near jobs and transit
on a small portion of the city’s residential land, it
limits opportunities for growth and flexibility on 21%
most of the city’s land. For example, minimum Multi-family
lot sizes do not allow homeowners to subdivide
their lot, making it difficult for low-income and/
or aging homeowners to stay in their homes while
the housing shortage boosts housing prices, and
subsequently, property taxes. 4% Single-
family
2%
A consequence of the growth strategy is that 73% ADU &
housing options are limited to two main types: Mixed-use DADU
detached single-family homes on quiet residential
streets or large apartment buildings on busy
arterials.28 This dearth of housing variety and Source: SDCI Permit Data 2006 - 2017
choice makes it challenging for first time home
buyers to purchase homes, older adults to
downsize, and for students and non-traditional needs, and preparing for the future, mandates
households to find housing that fits their needs having more housing types in walkable areas with
and income. Seattle is not alone in facing this issue, amenities and access to transit.
which has come to be commonly referred to as
“missing middle” housing.29 Housing development trends are also changing.
Our current strategy dictates that three quarters of
There are housing-related demographic trends the city’s residential land be reserved for detached
that have evolved over the past 25 years that single-family houses on increasingly expensive
are not accounted for in the current growth land. This incentivizes new development to build
strategy. Planners anticipate that the portion of as big a home as the City allows on any given lot,
the population who are older adults (over age 65), resulting in very large homes.31
will increase to 25% in King County in the next 20
years (up from 16.2% in 2010).30 Many older adults As older, smaller, and more affordable homes
are single, or part of a small household, and find are purchased, they are often demolished and
it challenging to maintain a large home. For those replaced with much larger homes that are sold
interested in downsizing while staying in their at a much higher price. This increase in price also
neighborhood, the growth strategy limits their inflates the value of houses around them as the
options. The current strategy also limits the housing more expensive home provides a new real estate
choices for non-traditional or intergenerational comparison in the neighborhood. The average size
families. The City must prepare for the increasing for home construction in 2016 was 46% larger than
demand for a variety of housing types that meet the average home built before single-family zoning
the needs of a greater diversity of households than was adopted.32 This trend stands in stark opposition
have existed in the past. Meeting today’s housing to the City’s affordability and sustainability goals.

28. Ibid.
29. (2015). Missing Middle Housing. Opticos Design, Inc.
30. (2016). Aging In King County. King County.
31. Seattle Planning Commission. (2018, December). Neighborhoods for All.
32. Ibid.

10 | Seattle Planning Commission

Strategies for more affordability Photo by Charles DeLoye on Unsplash
Wrestling with housing crises of their own,
Vancouver B.C., Minneapolis MN, and Oregon
State have already taken action to allow small scale
increases in density. In response to the housing
crisis, many cities across the country are exploring
updates to their residential zoning to allow up to
three or four units per lot.33 34 35 36 37

Combined with design guidelines and building

standards that maintain high quality development,
allowing small scale multi-family housing (triplexes,
townhomes, etc.) could increase housing
opportunities in Seattle, the impacts of which
should be studied during the City’s update to the
Comprehensive Plan. The 2023 update process is
an opportunity to conduct robust outreach and
engagement to better understand what community
members envision as the best means for adding
essential missing middle housing options to what
are now exclusive, single-family areas.

There are additional tools for increasing housing

options that are consistent with the scale of Financial burdens
Seattle’s residential neighborhoods. In tandem
with updates to the Land Use element of the Additional socio-economic factors play in to the
Comprehensive Plan, these could be designed total budget one has for housing. In 2019, 1 in 4
to respond to the unique attributes of different Americans have student loan debt: An estimated
types of parcels within the city when small-scale 44.7 million people. The average student loan debt
multifamily units are proposed. is $37,172.38 A growth strategy must respond to
these kinds of economic trends.
For example, allowing increases in the building
size or reducing setback requirements for corner
lots or lots adjacent to alleys could incentivize the
construction of additional units, or the conversion support first time home buyers, homeowners who
of existing homes into multiple units, potentially want to add on to their property, older adults
reducing the demand for demolition of those seeking affordable ways to age in place, and renters
dwellings. In addition, reducing or removing who are competing for a limited supply of available
minimum lot sizes could encourage more small-scale housing. Together, these changes could facilitate
housing density in contrast to the ever-expanding the evolution of a growth strategy that allows more
size of new homes that we see today. housing while enhancing livability.

By increasing opportunities to develop more The Planning Commission also views anti-
housing, and different types of housing at different displacement strategies such as community land
price points, an evolved growth strategy can trusts and renter protections as key components

33. Capps, K. (December 7, 2018). Why Minneapolis Just Made Zoning History. CityLab.
34. Holder, S. & Capps, K. (May 21, 2019). The Push for Denser Zoning Is Here to Stay. CityLab.
35. Chemtob, D. (April 11, 2019). Charlotte leaders consider how to undo a ‘legacy’ of housing segregation. The Charlotte Observer.
36. Badger, E. & Bui, Q. (June 18, 2019). Cities Start to Question an American Ideal: A House With a Yard on Every Lot. The New York Times.
37. Schneider, B. (May 8, 2019). Liberal America’s Single-Family Hypocrisy. The Nation.
38. (2019). Student Loan Debt: A current picture of student loan borrowing and repayment in the United States. Nitro.

Seattle Planning Commission | 11

of a more racially equitable growth strategy. The in order to find affordable housing options. In
Commission is tasked with reviewing and making terms of climate resilience, displacement weakens
recommendations based on the work of the community social networks and reduces the ability
Equitable Development Monitoring Program, which to communicate, share resources, and care for
collects data to better understand the impacts of each other during extreme weather events.42 Not
growth, and the risks of displacement in the city. only does this increase the number and length of
car trips, but the high price of land encourages
The Commission will work closely with the Office of developers to urbanize more affordable outlying
Planning and Community Development staff who farm and natural areas.
lead the monitoring program, and provide input
based on its findings. While not fully developed The growth strategy raises additional concerns
in this paper, the Commission is currently related to the air quality and pedestrian safety
identifying additional anti-displacement work to impacts of locating Urban Villages along arterials.
inform recommendations for the update of the The public health impacts of increasing the number
Comprehensive Plan, and the City’s growth strategy. of residents in these areas is not adequately
addressed. Air quality and other environmental
Growth and climate change justice impacts are of serious concern in Seattle,
In October of 2018, The Intergovernmental Panel where some neighborhoods have an estimated
on Climate Change shared data forecasting that the lifespan that is up to thirteen years shorter than
planet has until 2030 to curb carbon emissions by those living in whiter, wealthier neighborhoods.43
45%.39 Researchers say this reduction in emissions is The reasons for lifespan inequities are complex,
necessary in order to keep climate change impacts with one part of the equation likely being the
“at survivable levels.”40 Additionally, because of proximity to freight roadways and other air-
the work of environmental justice activists and polluting land uses.44
others, we know that communities of color, and
low-income communities are disproportionately By promoting large apartment buildings on
impacted by climate change-- an injustice that arterials, the growth strategy also encourages
will deepen as climate change impacts increase in
severity.41
Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Some of the neighborhoods that have experienced
historic environmental injustice will also experience
disproportionate climate change impacts such
as with sea level rise in Seattle's South Park
neighborhood. At present, the growth strategy
does not account for climate change impacts when
directing growth, missing opportunities to grow
in ways that address environmental injustice and
racial inequities.

By preventing most forms of small-scale housing

in the majority of the city’s residential areas, the
growth strategy reduces the capacity to house
more people, which contributes to displacement
pressures. Displacement disrupts community
networks as it forces people to leave the city

39. Allen, M.R., Et al. (October, 2019). Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5 Degrees Celsius. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
40. McGrath, M. (July 24, 2019). Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months. BBC News.
41. Casola, J., Et al. (2018). Unfair Share. The University of Washington climate impacts Group.
42. Stapleton, S.O., Et al. (November, 2017). Climate change, migration and displacement. United Nations.

12 | Seattle Planning Commission

families to live on busy streets where it is not safe not require a substantial, if not radical, reduction
for children to play, reducing their opportunities in motor vehicle emissions. Nearly two-thirds of
to get the recommended daily amount of physical local carbon emissions are from transportation.
activity.45 As in many parts of the country,
health inequities in Seattle correspond to race In the years following World War II, Seattle joined
and ethnicity. These examples of environmental cities across the country in an aggressive campaign
inequities further illustrate the importance of to remake the city in the image of the automobile.
updating the growth strategy with a sound racial The persistence of that legacy has myriad
equity framework. implications for the city’s ability to attain our goals
of sustainability, livability and affordability.
Strategies for climate change The existing growth strategy, as successful as it
As we learn more about what is at stake, has been in fostering transit-supportive nodes
and the limited time in which to act, aligning of housing, has nonetheless left the majority
climate-adaptive land use, and climate-smart of the city’s land area in a state of near or total
transportation policies is one of the biggest and dependence on automobile travel. It is critical
most essential strategies for ensuring the Earth that the next iteration of Seattle’s growth strategy
remains habitable. explicitly abandon the car-centric focus that has
Climate change necessitates that we adapt our held sway since the middle of the last century.
infrastructure and built environment to anticipate Doing so would have benefits not only for Seattle's
current and future climate impacts. The increased climate strategy and resilience, but would also help
frequency of extreme weather events present new the city become more affordable, less dangerous,
challenges to managing urban flooding, runoff, healthier and, ultimately, more livable.
and sea level rise.46 With those challenges come
opportunities to rethink our growth patterns and A more walkable city with streets that are
use of the public rights-of-way. For example, we greener, quieter and safer would make more
could configure more of our public rights-of-way parts of the city friendly for families and children
from paved to green infrastructure. of all incomes. A city that is easier and safer to
Furthermore, there is no approach to mitigating navigate without owning or hiring a car will be
Seattle’s contribution to climate change that does more affordable.

Sources of Green House Gas Commercial

Emissions in Seattle (2016) Buildings
Passenger
18% Transportation
The majority of Seattle’s direct emissions 50%
(66%) come from road transportation, with Residential
the bulk of them (50%) coming solely from Buildings
passenger vehicles. This measurement counts 14%
the number of vehicle trips starting and ending
within Seattle, and does not account for 3%
vehicles traveling through the city. Waste
16%
Freight
Source: Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment (2016) Transportation

43. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. King County Census Tracts online map. University of Washington.
44. (Unknown). February 2, 2016. Proximity to Major Roadways. US Department of Transportation.
45. The Aspen Institute. (2019). State of Play Seattle-King County. University of Washington & King County Parks.
46. Seattle Public Utilities. (December 29, 2017). Intensity Duration Frequency Curves and Trends for the City of Seattle. City of Seattle.

Seattle Planning Commission | 13

A comprehensive shift to electric vehicles, if we can less energy per unit than single-family homes.49
attain it, would certainly have benefits in terms of Building more densely also means that we can
easing some of the water and soil contamination add housing to areas where roads, power lines,
associated with gasoline and would reduce-- but sewer and water pipes already exist (and are more
not eliminate-- climate-harming emissions. But affordable to expand, as needed) making more
even if we could convert all vehicles to electric efficient use of infrastructure investments.
overnight, we still would be left with the hard truth
that we will not have physical space to move and
store cars in our growing city. Nor would it address The growth strategy and livability
the fact that we devote the majority of the public The term livability is often used as shorthand for
right of way to the movement and storage of many aspects of the built environment, as well
privately owned vehicles. as socio-economic conditions. Livability can also
refer to elements of public health, including clean
From an equity perspective, a strategy that relies air, water, and living spaces; a walkable urban
on personal ownership of expensive, new electric environment and active transportation options;
vehicles fails all but the most affluent. A key and access to healthy foods and public space,
aspect of a growth strategy that pursues racial including the public right of way.
equity, affordable homes and livability for all while
responding to climate change will necessarily Some outcomes of the current growth strategy
involve transportation and land use decisions that have increased the city’s livability and quality of
reduce reliance on the car. life. One direct consequence has been the growth
in population density that creates sufficient
In addition to transportation and use of the public ridership to support transit investments. This
right-of-way, a strong focus on anti-displacement has made Seattle a national leader in expanding
and affordable housing within the growth strategy transit ridership, even as other cities have
would simultaneously benefit efforts to promote seen declines in ridership in recent years.50 51
racial and social justice, and to mitigate the That increase in residential density has also
climate change.47 Evolving the growth strategy supported neighborhood businesses that provide
to expand housing opportunities, both in housing employment, neighborhood identity and spaces for
type and price, is one way that the City can reduce people to gather.
vehicle trips while increasing walkability and At the same time, the boundaries of our Urban
sustainability. This is another gain for livability, as Villages appear to be unnecessarily limiting those
Seattle remains on the list of the top ten US cities transit benefits. Rather than a rigorous application
with the worst traffic.48 of planning principles, those boundaries were
established by a political process that largely
Adding housing opportunities within Seattle also reflected the influence of the homeowners
reduces the demand for converting farms and that surround the villages. As a result, several
forestland to housing, preserving green space, and of Seattle’s Urban Villages have very narrow
helping keep carbon capturing trees and other boundaries, preventing the development of much
vegetation in place. needed housing, which limits the number of
households with access to transit. This is a barrier
Increases in housing density can also reduce the that limits the city’s ability to promote livability, as
energy costs of housing. Most residential energy well as to implement climate-friendly strategies.
consumption stems from heating and cooling, and Limiting density to Urban Villages with existing
multi-family buildings with two to four units use frequent transit hampers the city’s ability to

47. Austin, A. (November 15, 2017). To Move Is To Thrive: Public Transit and Economic Opportunity for People of Color. Demos.
48. Lindblom, M. (February 20, 2019). Did you lose 138 hours to Seattle-area traffic last year? New report ranks 5 other cities even worse. The
Seattle Times.
49. US Energy Information Administration. (June 18, 2013). Apartments in buildings with 5 or more units use less energy than other home types
50. Shafer, D. Seattle Is Climbing National Rankings as a Top Transit City and Leads the Country in Ridership Growth. Seattle Business Magazine
51. Lindblom, M. (February 15, 2018). Transit ridership continues to grow in central Seattle, while solo car commutes decline. The Seattle Times.

14 | Seattle Planning Commission

advocate for expanded transit service to more
areas. In this way, Seattle’s current growth strategy
creates a chicken-or-egg situation: areas need to
meet the definition of a frequent transit node to
become an Urban Village (or expand an existing
one), yet the density necessary to support frequent
transit cannot be achieved without the new
development created by expanding or establishing
an Urban Village. In other words, the areas of the
city with fewer characteristics of sustainability
and livability result not from a shortcoming of the
growth strategy but, instead, from the limits on the
size and number of Urban Villages.

The practice of redlining is especially relevant to

the current growth strategy’s potential to foster
livability for all residents. The City’s Growth and
Equity Analysis identified eight Urban Villages that
are at high risk of displacement. Those high-risk
Urban Villages are in areas that were previously
redlined, denied investments and have historically
been home to higher populations of people of
color. Thus, the initial injustice of policies that
promoted segregation by pushing people of color
into certain areas of the city, was exacerbated
when the growth strategy subsequently
concentrated development into areas where
residents were more vulnerable to displacement.

High Displacement
Strategies to promote livability Displacement Risk Risk
Livability components of an evolved growth
(2016)
strategy could include increasing the size of The City’s Growth and
Urban Villages, as well as adding new ones. New Equity analysis was Low Displacement
prepared for the Seattle Risk
types of Urban Villages, such as Urban Hamlets,
as discussed in the Planning Commission’s 2035 Comprehensive
Neighborhoods for All report, could provide Plan. The analysis Urban Villages
moderate increases in housing density around identified areas of
existing commercial nodes, or close to schools access to opportunity,
Parks
and parks. This would allow more residents to and areas with a high
access the many amenities and services that draw risk of displacement.
residents to those neighborhoods. Areas that
might support Urban Hamlets include, portions
Source: Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development
of Delridge, Leschi, Madison Park, Madrona,

Seattle Planning Commission | 15

Magnolia, Montlake, Seward Park, South Beacon
Hill, Tangletown, Wedgwood, Sand Point, and Photo: Seattle Department of Transportation
others that could be explored further with careful
study during the update of the Comprehensive
Plan.

To create walkable neighborhoods with transit

access, density and transit must be expanded
concurrently. Allowing more density in existing
low-density areas would boost transit ridership,
increasing the feasibility of expanded transit
investments, which, in turn, further boosts
ridership. In addition to expanding the number
and size of walkable neighborhoods with access
to transit, there are racial equity benefits as
well. Given the clear historical relationship
between exclusionary single-family zoning, racial
segregation, and economic inequality, revised
single-family zoning with policies that allow a
greater number and variety of housing options is
a logical step towards achieving the city’s racial
equity goals.52 53

An updated growth strategy should also respond

to the documented inequities in health, income,
education, and other quality of life measures seen
between neighborhoods that were previously
redlined, and those that have historically housed 14th Ave NW & NW 60th is an example of small-scale
higher populations of white residents. Growth housing density adjacent to a section of public right-
and development need to be more equitably of-way that has been converted to a green space.
distributed, creating opportunities for a greater
variety of housing types, and allowing more
development in those areas with the lowest
estimated risk of displacement. This would entail
employing proven planning criteria, such as urban
walksheds, for expanding existing Urban Village
boundaries from the irregular shapes seen today
that reflect the political power of those living just
outside them. Those same political forces persist
today, and altering existing policies will require
strong leadership from elected officials, and a
compelling narrative of the historical and current
racial and social justice inequities that we have the
responsibility to address.

52. Rothstein, R. (2017). The Color of Law. New York, NYLiveright Publishing Corporation.
53. Kruse, K. M. (August 14, 2019). What does a traffic jam in Atlanta have to do with segregation? Quite a lot. The New York Times Magazine.

16 | Seattle Planning Commission

A Vision for
Seattle’s Future
The dramatic changes in economic, demographic,
and environmental conditions over the past 25 years
demand new ideas that address the magnitude of
our housing and climate crises, while increasing
the quality of life for all residents. Fortunately,
Seattle need not start from scratch. There are
successful strategies for enhancing racial equity,
sustainability and livability many of which Seattle
already pursuing. However, Seattle’s existing
growth strategy needs revision and evolution to
firmly establish a racial equity framework that can
respond to the limitations we see in its present
form.

The Planning Commission’s report, Neighborhoods

for All, prompted a conversation regarding the
need to re-envision Seattle’s 25-year-old growth
strategy. This white paper is intended to advance
that conversation. The Commission looks forward Role of the Planning Commission
to working with City staff, elected officials and,
most importantly, communities throughout the The Seattle Planning Commission
city to redefine strategies for growth that address advises the Mayor, City Council and
the challenges outlined above while addressing City departments on broad planning
community members’ concerns. The update of goals, policies and plans for the physical
the Comprehensive Plan is a timely opportunity to
development of the City. The Commission’s
envision a growth strategy designed to advance
racial equity, end housing disparities by race, repair work is framed by the Comprehensive
harms caused by racially biased policies and ensure Plan and its vision for Seattle into the
that the existential threat of climate change not 21st Century, and by a commitment to
contribute to racial inequities. A city-wide strategy engaging citizens in the work of planning
of increased housing options, including affordable for and working to reach these goals. See
housing, paired with expanded public transit can the next page for more information about
play a significant role in addressing Seattle’s most current Commissioners.
vexing challenges while creating more walkable and
livable neighborhoods for every resident.

Seattle Planning Commission | 17

Who serves on the Planning Commission?
The Seattle Planning Commission is an
independent advisory body appointed by the
Mayor, City Council, and the Commission itself. The
members of the Commission are volunteers who
bring a wide array of expertise and a diversity of
perspectives to these roles.

Current Seattle Planning Commissioners

Michael Austin, Chair Patti Wilma, Vice Chair Sandra Fried Rick Mohler David Goldberg
Urban Designer Retired City Planner Public Health Architect, Professor, Smart Growth
Program Officer Advocate Strategist

Kelly Rider Grace Kim Amy Shumann Lauren Squires Julio Sánchez
Housing Policy Architect & Principal Lead and Toxics Multimodal Equity & Community
Schemata Workshop Program Manager Transportation Engagement Associate
Planner

Jamie Stroble Rian Watt

Climate Resilience & Improvement Advisor,
Equity Planner Homelessness

Seattle Planning Commission, 600 4th Ave, Floor 5; PO Box 94788 Seattle, WA. 98124-7088.
Tel: (206) 684-8694 | TDD: (206) 684-8118 | www.seattle.gov/planningcommission