SEATTLE, WASHINGTON Hello Seattle – Owl City James Zhou & Joanna Quan
Dec 24, 2015
Location
City Population (2009): 602 000Metro: 3 400 000 +Median Household Income (2000 Census): $45 736People in Poverty: 64 068Adults with a college degree: 53%
History & Background
• 3rd most creative city in the USA (Florida)• “Emerald City” (Beautiful Seattle, 2012)
• Between Puget Sound and Lake Washington
• Mild winters and cool summers
History & Background
• Economy: Booms and Busts• Caused by war
• Henry Yesler’s lumber mill vs. Native war
• Boeing’s success due to WWII.• 21st Century Expo Sponsorship
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Purpose: Protecting rights of low-income immigrants/refugees. Representing families & help settle down
• Helped over 10,200 people in 2011• Welcomes and harnesses people
of different colour and culture.
Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (Since 1996)
Purpose: Showcasing Queer Cinema as well as providing an opportunity for filmmakers/actors
• From an one-day event to an one-week festival.• 10,000+ tickets sold in 2002.• Helped filmmakers/films rise to
fame.
Seattle Bicycle ProgramPurpose: Building as many bike lanes as possible. Reduce automobile dependency
•129 miles of new bike lanes in 2012; ongoing
• Barriers: freeways, roadway crossings, and topography in many parts of the city (Seattle.gov)• Death rate “1 per
month” (TheSunBreak, 2011)
Public Art Ordinance
•Purpose: Expand the public’s experience with visual art & allow them to experience Seattle’s culture
•Adopted the percent-for-art ordinance in 1973•Collection includes 350 permanent art pieces & 2600 portable art pieces
Seattle Youth Employment & Job Initiatives Program
Purpose: • Supporting and training low-
income Seattlites • Finding jobs that pay beyond
min. wage
Shortcoming:• Immigrants who do not know English cannot fully
benefit • Later implemented ESL classes.
•Participants employed for significantly more months after training (Ekstrom et al., 1987)
Rainier Scholars
Purpose: To help low income minority students get into top high schools and universities around the country
•Started in 2002 and hundreds of students apply each year, only 50 is accepted•This program harnesses the academic potential of those who are of low income minority•It helps motivate them to succeed and become the leaders of tomorrow
Keep the program but……
•Alter it to accept more students into the program•Ease up on the students and provide learning retreats•Try to attain government support and outside funding
3 T’s: Technology
• Boeing aircrafts started Seattle’s economy, providing thousands of jobs.
• Home of multinational corporations such as Microsoft, Nintendo.
• BUT: Technology is Seattle’s weakest T.• Ranked 21 according to Florida (2002)
across U.S.
Light Link RailPurpose: New form of transportation since ’09 by SoundTransit
• Frequent delays due to buses that share the same transit tunnel
• Ridership fell short, ex. goal was 8.1mil in 2010, only reached 6.9mil. (SoundTransit)
•3x more likely to involve in fatal crashes than driving (BetterTransport.info)
Seattle Needs Subway
• With light link rail, above-ground transportation is becoming even more crowded
• Subway = move a large portion of the above-ground traffic underground.
• Faster transportation = faster economic transaction, a more successful economy & city
“Girl, I need you like
Seattle needs a subway system.”
(Seattlepi)
City Green BuildingPurpose: Green all the built environments in Seattle to make it more sustainable •Began in 2000; First city in USA to adapt to the program•One of the strongest green building markets in NA
•Incentives to encourage taking part in the program
Continue to Foster New Businesses
•New businesses helps the economy grow•Helps thicken the job market and opens up different opportunities for creative workers•Spur innovation