Futurewise Hosts Panel Discussion for Affordable Housing Week

Futurewise partnered with S4E and Welcoming West Seattle to host a panel discussion for Affordable Housing Week 2018. The discussion was held at Southwest Youth and Family Services in West Seattle and covered the topics of transit oriented development and affordable housing – specifically, the role that the City of Seattle and Sound Transit can play to help facilitate affordable housing around future light rail stations in West Seattle and across the City.

We had an all-star group of panelists that gave a variety of perspectives, including: District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold, District 8 Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Edward Butterfield of Sound Transit, Bill Rumpf of Mercy Housing, and Marijana Cvenček of Schemata Workgroup, Inc.

All of the questions asked were collected from community members; they probably have some of the same questions about transit oriented development and affordable housing as you! Questions ranged from how does Sound Transit incorporate transit oriented development and how can they discount property; what barriers do affordable housing developers have to build projects; all the way to how do we make sure that we have affordable commercial spaces for small local businesses to thrive.

The panel was moderated by Bryce Yadon, the State Policy Director for Futurewise, and Welcoming West Seattle’s Matt Hutchins, a West Seattle resident and architect. You can read in detail and watch the hour long discussion here.

Category Archives: News

Futurewise Hosts Panel Discussion for Affordable Housing Week

Futurewise partnered with S4E and Welcoming West Seattle to host a panel discussion for Affordable Housing Week 2018. The discussion was held at Southwest Youth and Family Services in West Seattle and covered the topics of transit oriented development and … Continue reading

Tacoma City Council Approves Mall Neighborhood Plan with Support from Community

Futurewise is excited to announce that the Tacoma City Council voted unanimously to approve the Tacoma Mall Subarea Plan on Tuesday, May 15. The plan is an innovative example of smart urban growth, including increases in transportation access, implementation of affordable housing … Continue reading

Seeking Volunteers!

Futurewise is helping coordinate the 2018 Stormfest in Des Moines Beach Park. Stormfest is an interactive stormwater science festival that provides experiential field lesson to 6th grade students from the Highline School District. We are seeking volunteers to work on June … Continue reading

Sound Transit is advancing affordability

On April 27th, the Sound Transit Board updated the agency transit oriented development (TOD) policies to implement equitable transit oriented development (eTOD) and adopted a plan that allows for land to be discounted for affordable housing. This is the culmination … Continue reading

Futurewise is Supporting the Tacoma Mall Plan

The Mall Subarea Plan has the potential for transforming a critical Tacoma neighborhood into a model of positive urban growth, as well as implementing ground-breaking policies that could influence planning in other areas of the city.  Futurewise supports the policies … Continue reading

Grow with Algona!

As part of our collaboration with the City of Algona and the Algona Public Awareness Action Coalition (APAC), Futurewise has kicked off Grow with Algona and we have gotten some great environmental stewardship projects literally in the ground!  In just one day, … Continue reading

Futurewise Challenging Benton County Planning

On April 19, 2018, Futurewise filed an appeal of the Benton County Comprehensive Plan on the grounds that sprawling development is unsustainable in rural areas without adequate planning for drinking water. The county’s comprehensive plan assumes the high end of state … Continue reading

More Housing for People, Less for Cars

Futurewise and partners at the Seattle City Council hearing on parking legislation Imagine a policy that could help lower the cost of rent, relieve congestion, reduce our transportation emissions and air pollution, and also improve bicycle parking. By changing Seattle’s … Continue reading

Futurewise is hiring in Tacoma

Futurewise is hiring in Tacoma! We are looking for a part-time Organizing and Outreach Manager to work on urban planning and policy advocacy in Tacoma – particularly support for affordable housing, transit-oriented development and green infrastructure.  See the job description here.

Seeking Volunteers!

StormFest is a unique 2-day, interactive, stormwater science focused educational festival for 6th grade students at Highline School District. Environmental Science Center is adapting the hands-on Drain Rangers curricula to create 5 different 25-minute innovative, in-field, experiential lessons focused on … Continue reading