Site Report #4: The Past and Future U District

University District Partnership section from the University District Parks Plan 2015 Update.  Outlines the community created plan/desires for the U District. Rights held by the Seattle Department of Planning and Development. Published August 7, 2015.

An image of Poplar Hall (Seattle, Wa) to show the way the University handled the modern update in this part of the U District.  Rights held by the Seattle Department of Planning and Development. Found in the University District Urban Design Framework Exisiting Conditions Report, 2014.

Half of Block #28, Poplar Hall, is recently renovated and will not be majorly changed in anyway for the next 50 years.  However, like much of the University District, the other half of this block is older, a bit more run down, and lacking “openness.”  The major priority for the area of the U-District including Block # 28 according to the University Community Urban Center Approval and Adoption Matrix from 1998 was to help define the transitions between residential areas, commercial areas, campus as well as improving transit in the area.  The focus on transit would enable the U-District to become more connected and accessible to the rest of the city and allow for more business to boom around what would/will become the new light rail station just a few blocks northeast of Block #28 (University Community Urban Center Association. "Lower Brookylnn.").

Just walking around Block #28 and in the blocks surrounding the area, one can see the addition of more greenery along the sidewalks in some areas, more bike lanes, and more cross walks.  The construction for the new light rail station is underway, proving that some of these plans are being or have been implemented into the University District already.

The University District has been known for its open spaces and parks in the area.  When looking to the future of the University District, it looks like there might be a long fight ahead to protect these characteristics from being removed.  With the recent approval of the up-zoning of the University District, the nickname “a city within a city” may become too much of a reality.  Is it possible that in a more distant future we will have a mini Seattle in place of the historic student-friendly neighborhood?  As community members of this neighborhood, we need to make sure that with the modernization of the University District that the plans for open public spaces are not forgotten or all torn apart and that small businesses can still thrive in this area along with the bigger ones like they have in the past.  Several of the documents made reference to the historic importance of the University District area, even back to the native Indians which inhabited the land, so I am hopeful that they will be reminded to save some of the land and smaller scale characteristics the U-District has.  The University District Parks Plan Update 2015 documents were filled with many ideas to create these more open, public spaces that emulate the recent additions to the University of Washington’s West Campus Dorms, such as Elm and Poplar Hall, which is found on Block #28 (Seattle Department of Planning and Development. "New Student Housing Along Campus Parkway.") (Seattle Department of Planning and Development. "University District Partnership."). 

With the recent approval of the upzoning of the U District, this area is going to only become more and more city-like.  And, unfortanuately, with this comes the deeper seperation of the classes of those who can afford the modern city and those who cannot.  It feels that making so many areas more city-like is equivalent to saying "'we are for segregation at any cost'" (Kruse 143).  This is because such a big push to make streets, buildings, and everything nicer and tech-filled has to come with a large price tag that some people cannot reach.  What are these groups suppose to do when they cannot afford the moderizations? they have to move out and away.

I believe that if the right blend of new buildings, original buildings, and open spaces/parks is found, then this will still be a student centered U-District.  College students are often attracted to new technologies and modern looks, but cannot afford high-end, downtown Seattle prices.  The U-District now offers more affordable places to eat, shop, and study, but is less appealing to the young adults of the area.  The parks, greenery, and pedestrian access is also critical to many of the more liberal student found in this area and to students in general who enjoy time walking about in the University District.  The U-District has always been a place of change, expression, and residence.  

The idea of modernizing the U-District is not new, but the way in which it will be modified will be new and we need to make sure that key characteristics or not lost in the renovations.

Conclusion

“Stories well done are stories that reveal how people and societies have actually functioned, and they prompt thought about human experience in other times and places.”   

This is a quote from Why Study History? by Peter N. Stearns (p 3).  When isolated and analyzed, it can speak to the change and growth of many cities or neighborhood, such as, the University District.  The University District has evolved dramatically from its original shape.  Buildings have been established, trees have been removed, dirt paths have been changes to tarmac roads which have seen the entrance and exit of streetcars, and yet, one thing about this neighborhood has remained consistent: Its identity.  The U District is a place of change, growth, and expression.  It has been directly impacted by the downtown city of Seattle and before that the ports.  Modernization of the city leads to the modernization of the U District.  We find ourselves currently in a large period of change and growth for the greater Seattle area, including the U District.  With the approval of up-zoning, the soon-to-be addition of the light rail, and with the plans to make the streets more pedestrian friendly, the University District will become even more so of a place to connect people and share ideas.  The diversity of not only the people but also the buildings and the needs that will need to be met will be greater, I believe, than ever before.  At the end of this project, we can see the history of the U District and where it is projected to go.  So, then I ask, what will the University District story?  How will the next generation's view our actions and developments to the University District?  What does this show about us?

Works Cited

Eng, William. Corner of N.E. 41st St. and University Way. 1963. University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division / Seattle Photograph Collection, Seattle, WA.

Eng, William. University Way from N.E. 41st Street. 1963. University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division / Seattle Photograph Collection, Seattle, WA.

Kruse, Kevin Michael. White Flight: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Conservatism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2007. Print.

Seattle: City Planning Commission. "Plate 23." Zoning Maps of City of Seattle (1947): n. pag.Seattle Municipal Archives Map Index. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Seattle Department of Planning and Development. "New Student Housing Along Campus Parkway." University District Urban Design Framework Exisiting Conditions Report(2014): 37. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Seattle Department of Planning and Development. "University District Partnership." University District Parks Plan 2015 Update (2015): 5. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.Stearns, Peter N. "The Importance of History in Our Own Lives." Why Study History?N.p.: n.p., 1998. 3. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

 Tate, Cassandra. "HistoryLink.org." Seattle Repertory Playhouse Opens New Theater on February  2, 1930. HistoryLink.org, 21 Feb. 2002. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

University Community Urban Center Association. "Lower Brookylnn." University Community Urban Center Approval and Adoption Matrix (1998): 8-11. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

USGS. "USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer." Historical USGS Topo Maps-Seattle 1894. U.S. Department of the Interior, 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.