2024 University of Washington Landscape Architecture Capstone

a northgate land trust cooperative

environmental resilience through neighborhood development kove janeski

University of Washington

Master of Landscape Architecture

Capstone 2024

Seattle is growing - fast

According to 2022 census data, the cityʼs population sits just under 750,000. The city experienced 21.1% growth in population between 2010 and 2020, which was more than twice the growth rates the city saw over each of the two previous decades.1 From April 1, 2022 to the same date in 2023, the city gained 16,700 new people for a 2.2% growth rate.² In the preceding year, from July 2021 to July 2022, the city also saw massive growth at a rate of 2.4%, making Seattle the fastest-growing big city in the US that year.³ The Puget Sound Regional Council predicts that...

central Puget Soundʼs population will balloon by 1 million before 2040.

This would likely push Seattle past San Franciscoʼs population (808,437 as of 2022).⁴ Seattleʼs population density sits just under 9,000 people per square mile. Considering that San Franciscoʼs has a density of over 17,000 residents per square mile, it is conceivable that Seattle has the potential to absorb even more than this projected growth. And it is very possible that Seattle will need to absorb more than projected - although the Puget Sound Region has its own share of heatwaves and other destructive natural events, it would be reasonable to assume that Seattleʼs mild climate will attract migrants of all backgrounds to the region. For now, Sun Belt cities like Forth Worth and Miami have experienced growth rates similar to Seattle. But in a future shaped by global warming, growth in those climates may become unsustainable. A report prepared for the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group found that, while migration is multi-causal in nature, “planners and service providers are justified in wondering if preferable climate conditions in the region could attract an unanticipated influx of newcomers to the area”.13 Is Seattle prepared to

develop the housing density necessary to absorb a population influx fueled by climate change? And will jobs be available for these new residents?

Paths to Development

Since the adoption of Seattleʼs Comprehensive Plan in 1994, city planners have focused on managing growth and development through an ʻurban villageʼ approach. Although these villages were renamed ʻurban centersʼ in a 2024 update to the One Seattle Comprehensive Plan, the general concept remains the same: concentrating multifamily housing and commercial activity within pockets of land around the city. These centers usually contain transit hubs and four to eight

City Planning Commission, circa 1958 [20]

However, a 2021 internal racial equity analysis of Seattleʼs Comprehensive Plan found that the urban center approach can perpetuate an exclusionary legacy of policies like redlining and does little to foster economic mobility within BIPOC communities. The analysis suggests that, “in order to advance racial equity... the City must end the prevalence of single-family zoning [around urban centers]....

When 75% of residential land is reserved for single-family housing, the remaining 25% of land will continue to foster demand at prices unaffordable to low-income families”⁷

The Planʼs urban center strategy effectively insulated single-family residential zones from the stressors of development. To partially address this issue, Seattle has looked to encourage the development of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) throughout the city.

Introducing Density and Reducing Costs of Living

Although the prevalence of single-family zoning remains, the City government has steadily removed barriers to allow for the construction of ADUs on single-family lots. Today, up to two ADUs are allowed on any single-family zoned lot.8 ADU development is a step towards more evenly distributed development across the city, but is also predicated on the resources and motivations of individual property owners. While wealthy homeowners may not be interested in dedicating a chunk of their property or home to construct an ADU, low and middle-income property owners may not have the capital to invest in an ADU: as of 2023, the median cost to build an ADU in Seattle was $200,000. In the cityʼs annual household income survey, respondents who were ADU residents reported a median home cost of $732,000 or a monthly rent of $1,650.9 These prices are just under median prices for the wider housing market, but are still too expensive for many Seattleites ‒ according to 2024 Zillow studies, a household income of $89,000 is necessary to comfortably afford Seattleʼs average rent of $2,186. For buyers, a household income of $214,000 is

4TH QUARTER, 2023 HOUSING AFFORDABILITY INDEX21

Seattle buyers and renters

affordability for households earning Seattleʼs median income

affordability for households earning 70% of Seattleʼs median income (to buy a home priced at 85% of the median or rent at an average price)

data from the Washington Center for Real Estate Research show that households earning a

or 70% of a median income are largely overburdened by mortgage payments. However, rent costs are more affordable.

recommended to comfortably afford an average Seattle home, which sold for a median price of $850,000 in February 2024.10,11 In 2022, Seattleʼs median household income was $116,06812 and in 2024, an individual working full-time for a minimum wage makes about $41,500 a year. Clearly, the cost of housing in Seattle is unaffordable for many. To develop more affordable housing at a rate that meets the cityʼs demand, ADU development needs to be incentivized in new ways.

To begin to rethink housing and neighborhood development in Seattle, I use the wider Northgate neighborhood in North Seattle as a theoretical pilot site. Including parts of the Maple Leaf, Victory Heights, and Pinehurst neighborhoods, this single-family residential area borders the Northgate ʻRegional Centerʼ, an area that is intended to accommodate a significant share of the cityʼs growth (other Regional Centers include Downtown, First Hill/Capitol Hill, and the University District).14

At the heart of this Regional Center, the Northgate Station is under development to be a high-density transit hub near the interstate and light rail station. But the surrounding car-centric, suburban neighborhood does not reflect this shift.

The development of Urban and Regional Centers alone will not be enough to meet demand for affordable housing in the city, so how can the development of the neighborhoods that make up the wider Northgate region occur in a way that retains their uniqueness, prevents displacement, improves ecosystem services, allows for population density, and creates high-quality jobs? I hope to answer this question by proposing a land trust and worker cooperative in Northgate. Land Trusts are nothing new in Seattle ‒ Africatown Community Land Trust and Homestead Community Land Trust, for instance, have led multiple affordable housing development projects and created other community resources in the Puget Sound. What I am proposing, however, is an organization that creates and maintains public spaces while incentivizing housing density and new businesses in the wider Northgate community.

a thought experiment in Northgate

Letʼs imagine that Washington no longer has one of the most regressive tax structures in the US.15

After a progressive wealth and property tax is finally adopted by the state, the ultra-wealthy begin to pay their fair share. In response to increasing calls for affordable housing and an unprecedented influx of climate refugees to Seattle, King County voters pass a ballot measure that diverts part of this tax revenue to fund a community development pilot project: the Northgate Land Trust & Worker Cooperative (NLTC).

The Northgate Land Trust & Worker Cooperative, based in the diverse Northgate area, has two missions: to steward land put into trust and to empower immigrants, climate refugees, and displaced indigenous peoples.

The NLTC works with property owners to determine land value and purchase property to be put into trust. Land owners can sell outright to the NLTC, or receive rebates of greater value towards the development of a local business or additional housing on the sellerʼs property. Based on the median selling price of residential lots in Northgate from 2022-2024, land in this area has been selling at about $80/square foot. The NLTC works with the community to determine the programming of trust land. The NLTC does not directly develop housing ‒rather, it provides funding for community members to invest in their own local businesses or ADUs. The private land that becomes public trust land is stewarded by NLTC members and partners, who have a diversity of backgrounds and expertise.

NorthSeattle

Northgate Regional Center

Pinehurst

Victory Heights

Maple Leaf

northgate as a COMMUNITY

Between 2000 and 2020, Seattleʼs overall population grew 30% while its foreign-born population grew 47%. According to 2020 Census data, over 143,000 of the cityʼs residents are foreign born. China is the top origin of international migrants (15.3%), followed by India (9.0%), Vietnam (7.3%), Mexico (6.7%), and the Philippines (6.3%).18 The NLTC will aim to sponsor immigrants and refugees as positions become available in the organization. If Northgate homeowners offer housing for a sponsored immigrant (a room or ADU), the NLTC will pay their rent. This is similar to the Quality Housing Coalitionʼs ʻProject HOMEʼ Initiative in Maine.19 Today, much of the immigrant work force in the Seattle metro area is white collar ‒ however, the NLTCʼs holistic approach to public land stewardship necessitates that it employs individuals with diverse backgrounds. This would include artists, community organizers, chefs, general contractors, engineers, farmers, scientists, social workers, landscape architects, and landscapers. Ultimately, the NLTC will aim to leverage their membersʼ diverse backgrounds while providing support as they adjust to life in

Diverse immigrant backgrounds are an asset to the NLTC: whether

northgate as a GRID

Brought on by the opening of the Northgate Mall in 1950, the Northgate Regional Centerʼs land-use pattern is a product of the neighborhoodʼs rapid commercial development.16 Today, although the heart of the Regional Center is slated for high-density commercial and residential use, the neighborhoodʼs car-centric circulation pattern remains. A limited number of large north-south arterials and even fewer east-west arterials means that a typical block in the Northgate regional center is 1280ft x 600ft, while city blocks in the First HIll/Capitol Hill Regional Center are 330ft x 420ft on average. The Cityʼs Department of Planning and Development has found that Northgateʼs ʻsuperblockʼ configuration constricts mobility for all travel modes, including vehicles.17 Looking past the regional center and into the surrounding urban neighborhoods, we can see that the Maple Leaf, Victory Heights, and Pinehurst neighborhoods also have relatively large blocks that constrict communal connectivity. This contrasts with the Cherry Hill urban neighborhood outside of First Hill/Capitol Hill, which retains a denser grid and more convenient access to amenities. To address this issue, the NLTC will prioritize the development of pedestrian alleyways between streets.

800ft

Northgate Regional Center

First Hill/Capitol Hill Regional Center

Urban Neighborhoods outside Regional Centers

Seattleʼs piped creek watersheds

northgate as a WATERSHED

Thornton Creek watershed watershed boundary

culverted stream

I-5 & 522

priority priority areas for future public space improvement 22

highest priority high priority medium priority low priority

highest priority stream

Urban Centerʼ

Northgate lies within the Thornton Creek watershed, the cityʼs largest piped creek watershed. Thornton Creek and its tributaries pass through hundreds of front and backyards, miles of culverts, and often contains levels of pollutants that are unsafe for human exposure. Work has long been underway to rehabilitate and protect this urban, salmon-bearing waterway. Another priority of the NLTC would be to work with the community to put segments of the riparian zone into trust, support restoration and daylighting efforts, and develop broader public access to this natural resource. The NLTC would prioritize this work in areas determined to be highest priority for future public space improvement by the City of Seattleʼs Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD).22

highest priority area for public space improvement

Victory Creek as the center of an urban neighborhood

Letʼs take a closer look at the potential impact of the NLTC on a specific section of urban neighborhood just east of the Northgate Regional Center ‒ within the Maple Leaf and Pinehurst neighborhoods, this residential area includes segments of Victory Creek and Thornton Creek. Bounded by NE 104th St, NE 117th St, Roosevelt Way NE, 15th Ave NE from west to east, these blocks sit within the OPCDʼs ʻhighest priorityʼ zone for future public space improvement. If we hope to...

• respond to the need for new and improved public space,

• prepare for the traffic that rapid development in the Regional Center will bring,

• retain the neighborhoodʼs socio-economic character while allowing for population density, and

• improve ecosystem services through stream rehabilitation and daylighting, then the NLTC will need to consider interventions in environmental, residential, and commercial contexts.

Northgate Regional Center boundary

Design program will take shape through a participatory design framework. Working with the local community, the NLTC will focus on developing methods to efficiently install trails and pathways, develop new uses for parking lots, identify riparian zones for rehabilitation, and effectively provide social services.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL

Letʼs imagine a new trail that follows Thornton Creek, extending from the Kingfisher Natural Areaʼs trail system in Lake City. Passing under the 15th Ave NE viaduct and through a riparian zone that used to be private property, travelers make their way north to Northgate Way. A new pedestrian crossing allows easy access the Pinehurst neighborhood and the newly establish LIHI tiny house village in the QFC Supermarketʼs parking lot.

Restoration work means invasive species are removed, log jams are installed, earthwork is done, and native plants are planted to reestablish the streamʼs hyporheic zone. Existing homes and new tiny houses, many built with funds that property owners received from the NLTC, overlook this activity along the Creek.

The NLTC collaborates with organizations like the ʻSeattle Homeless Outreachʼ nonprofit to provide services to unsheltered community members that take refuge in and around Thornton Creek.

Water and road crossings allow for community members to easily access the trails and interact with the sights and sounds of the Creek.

NENorthgateWay

A raised pedestrian crossing with a planted median on Northgate Way greets hikers emerging from the Thornton Creek floodplain. The NLTC collaborates with the Seattle Department of Transportation to install the crossing.

Letʼs also imagine a northward walk within the site, beginning at a newly constructed pedestrian alleyway between 12th Ave NE and 14th Ave NE. Many of the homeowners that sold part of their property to allow for these pathways took advantage of incentives to construct ADUs or start a business. To develop and maintain the neighborhoods pathways, pocket parks, and multi-use spaces on trust land, the NLTC also makes sure to secure local sites for storage and staging.

New pedestrian alleyways that form new connections across large residential blocks also allow for more density. Here, a new alleyway connects 12th & 14th Ave NE. A property owner, who sold part of their land to allow for the alleyway, also constructed an ADU in their front yard.

New pedestrian alleyways that run in and along Victory Creek are opportunities for a more adventurous route from street to street.

A pocket ʻwetlandʼ park is constructed near the intersection of 12th Ave NE & NE 114th St. Expanding the streamʼs hyporheic zone, creating public green space, and encouraging foot trafficwithout blocking any driveways.

A multi-use parking lot on a churchʼs property allows for pop-up food truck events on the weekdays. The space is easily accessible from Northgate Station on foot.

At the corner of NE 115th St & Pinehurst Way NE, this homeowner took advantage of small-business loan incentives after selling part of their property to the NLTC. The NLTC constructed a stream-side walkway and staging area in the driveway.

PinehurstWayNE

References

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