foreword
We believe that Seattle stands at the crossroads of a grand opportunity. Its natural beauty, its economic vitality and its environmentally concerned citizens make it thrice blessed and a magnet for people from around the country. We at the City want to harness those elements to make Seattle even better. This striving to improve our grand city led us to team with Gehl Architects and the International Sustainability Institute to lead the most exhaustive Public Space and Public Life study of any city in America. This study helps us better understand how Seattleites – and the visitors it attracts from around the region – spend their time in the city. We counted how many people walked, how many people hung out in public spaces, and we examined what routes they used to get where they were going. Why all the fuss? We wanted to better understand the city’s patterns so that we could make walking, biking and hanging out in the city more attractive still. Understanding our citizens’ habits will help us create more invitations for the kind of things they want to do more of. The result: the city’s livability thrives, and the economy thrives.
This approach has still another benefit. Seattle is known throughout the country as a leader in environmental sustainability. Creating invitations for people to walk, bike and spend time outdoors makes a more pleasant place to be. It also makes the city a more environmentally sustainable one. When people walk or bike, they don’t need a car for those short trips. The roads stay open for businesses and other commercial vehicles to make their way. Seattle now can lead the country in another way – toward a more people-focused planning. Only by planning in a way that encourages people to live sustainably – to make it convenient and comfortable and fun – will citizens embrace these changes. In a world environment struggling to stay healthy, those changes cannot come soon enough. This keen interest in sustainability – along with a desire to make a more pleasant city for our citizens – gives everyone at the City of Seattle a sense of urgency and interest in making this shift. We hope you enjoy our effort here.