Introduction

The U District is a place of rapid change in a city already filled with construction. The area has been shaped by many things, most notably it's namesake, the University of Washington which moved there in the 1900s. The block I focused on is located in the far south eastern corner of the U District, right next to the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge. This has had a profound and considerably negative effect on the development of the block and shows some consequences transportation networks can have on a city. However,  recently my block has begun showing new development of larger apartment buildings, transitioning from a lowrise to midrise neighborhood. This mirrors the direction the U District is moving towards as population increases and with it new challenges immerge. By focusing on the history and current factors shaping one block, we can better understand how the entire district and even the city as a whole is changing.Through analysis of historical and current documents as well as on-site research, I hope to show how my block got to where it is today and where it's headed in the future.