We asked and you answered . . . how can Seattle revive downtown?

Thanks to everyone who responded to DRA’s call for ideas on how downtown can come back better.  Among many comments was one that deserves this week’s spotlight. The writer, who knows she is fortunate to have a second home, believes the solution must start with vision and will on the part of our elected leaders.

“My husband and I have retreated from Seattle to wait out the virus and the economic impacts. To be perfectly frank, I’m not sure when we will return. The City’s demonstrated commitment to expansion at any cost leads me to a reluctant understanding that my City leaders do not care about quality of life for the humans they have worked so consistently to attract.

To build a better future, Seattle would first have to rethink all of its priorities. We need a community that respectfully considers the needs and inherent value of each person regardless of their race, gender identity, mental health, and/or life experiences.

A great city needs diversity by ethnicity, age, expertise and wealth. It needs to provide affordable, safe housing, safe streets and sustainable opportunities for education, employment, mental stimulation, and advancement.

Our community leadership must recognize today’s uncompromisable need to prioritize protection of air and water quality and implement sustainable resource management including better planning and management of solid waste.

Most of all, it needs to stop making design trade-offs that impact pedestrian safety and security but serve as incentives for developers who continue to build more expensive, high end structures that force out diversity.

Building a better future is beyond difficult. It will require great effort, imagination, and commitment by Seattle’s leadership. The burden of this work rests firmly on the shoulders of the politicians and bureaucrats who do not sincerely listen to and consider public input.

When our leaders are obligated to the establishment, their path forward is limited by that patronage. Leadership must break free of this bond if they hope to realize a future that does not replicate the pre-Covid status quo.”