Seattle

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Jacob Silverman

11/30/2011 Seattle: The Future is Now

Prof Linton SOCI153

The Chicago School’s sociospatial perspective contends that the interplay between government , community economy and investment shape the outcome for the urban space being studies. The planning style of New Urbanism is focused on finding alternative solutions to conventional suburban planning methods to promote improved social diversity and ecological sustainability within communities. The film Seattle: The Future is Now explores through sociospatial perspective the history and development of various New Urbanism planning initiatives within the city of Seattle. Some projects are focused primarily on building a better social landscape, some on making current practices more sustainable and others create a harmony between these two aims, and the Seattle of today is represented as a space where progressive-minded planning has thrived as a result of not only a progressive government and developers, but also as a result of its staunchly determined community efforts to have their city be a leader in sustainable and vibrant United States Urban life thought successfully balancing the needs of society and nature. A major issue facing the Pacific Northwest is water quality and maintaining healthy ocean and stream ecosystems. Over generations of abuse to the environment, the state of stream quality in the area had deteriorated significantly, causing a great threat to the native Coho Salmon, a species that was already facing threats from overfishing. With the formation of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission a few years after Native American Fishing Rights were restored, much work began to attempt to counter the negative effects of overfishing and poor water quality. From the tribal cultural emphasis on the well-beingsoci of the salmon populations, classes in elementary schools focusing on salmon lifecycles and taking good care of streams/ water sources have been implemented. By integrating through education a focus on environmental protection, an investment has been made in raising future champions of global climate change crises that not only affect this region, but others as well. Additionally, a project called Sea Streets has been implemented in some parts of the urban region.

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Jacob Silverman

11/30/2011

Prof Linton SOCI153

Sea Streets are open landscaped swales and cascades that make less runoff (and therefore more groundwater is replenished) as well as cleaning waste products out of water before it reaches the ocean. Not only does this project help improve the quality of the water, but it creates more vibrant landscape than traditional urban runoff management plans. Another major area of focus in Seattle urban planning has been transportation. One current issue was the renovation of the Alaskan Viaduct, a major thoroughfare. Here, government and community both proposed a number of solutions. A small coalition in favor of waterfront access had a proposal which was deemed unreasonable because of its inability to address the traffic problems it would cause on other major roadways. Ultimately, the decision was made to use a more expensive plan that would create green space on top of the new project, instead of keeping the old design structure intact. Here the audience observes a government that is choosing to invest in the future of its city space in way that promotes mixed use and sustainability, as opposed to maintaining an unsightly structure in the area. Also impressive was the amount of biodiesel users and manufacturers. From small scale operations to 5-million gallon per year operations, the biodiesel culture was thriving and creating a niche for otherwise unusable waste materials in the city. Furthermore, it was being used to provide public transportation for a number of busses and trolleys, simultaneously limiting dependence on cars. While the monorail project was unsuccessful, it showed the power of grassroots organizing to push the boundaries of what would be possible within the city. The segment about the “One Less Car” program showed that an environmental initiative could also foster healthier social and recreational actions, such as biking to work or walking one’s children to school. In Seattle, it is apparent that by community and government efforts to diversify the kinds of sustainable options available, the likelihood of sustainability to be implemented into the family lifestyle is increased greatly.

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Jacob Silverman

11/30/2011

Prof Linton SOCI153

There are a great number of challenges to successful urban planning, and no one initiative can adequately address the needs of every individual or special interest. In the case of Seattle, however, it is obvious to the audience of this film that if a will exists to shape the community in a direction most beneficial to both society and nature, the investments of today will certainly move the community forward in a direction that can meet the needs of both. If applied globally, this kind of conscientious mentality and action could have unprecedented positive implications for both people and the planet of tomorrow.

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