Site Report #3: Audio Tour

Picture taken of Roosevelt Way during the 1940s in the peak of its commercial growth. (Roosevelt Way Seattle, WA 1941)

Map of Seattle from 2010 showing the population density by square mile and blocks.

Map of Seattle that shows the construction of backyard cottages in recent years. This map was provided by Seattle City Council. It trully shows the high demand for living space and lack of actual room for development of reisdenial areas.

My block, a small stretch of Roosevelt Way between 56^th Street and 59^th Street, may not be the busy and bustling avenue that it was just a few decades ago but the historical relevance of the block still remains. In my research I found an older map from the early 20^th century (first picture) and I thought that it would be a good resource to use for comparison with other more recent maps. On each map my block is marked by an indigo circle. On this map you can see that Roosevelt Way is labeled by its original name, 10^th Avenue. I think this map does a good job illustrating the grid structure of the U-District and the methodical thought process behind the layout of the city considering it was most likely planned to be 100% urbanized.

 The next picture I have shows post-World War II Roosevelt Way about twenty years after the street was renamed and it is fair to assume from the picture that the street witnessed relatively more traffic back then. Unfortunately none of the businesses pictured, including the sears, are still open today but there is a good explanation for why this is. The sears was closed around 1980 because in the surrounding areas there was a higher demand for housing and residential rather than a single huge department store. According to the University of Washington catalogue from right after the war, the school had around 15,000 undergraduates in 1948. Fast forward to the closing of the Sears in the 1980s and the University undergraduate population had essentially doubled to 28,000 students. This high demand for living space accompanied by the huge student demographic is the main driving force behind this residential growth. The next two map I have work well together in showing the growth of the population density and increase in housing in more recent years.

This first map shows the 2010 Seattle census breakdown by areas of high and low population and the next map shows the number of backyard cottages built in the last decade. These backyard cottages are a cause for misconception of population since they take up no additional property space to construct but increase the total living capacity of an area. I think the census map does an excellent job of showing that the areas around the school are very densely populated, while the backyard cottages map shows the expansion happening within the already developed living spaces. "These exapnsions may seem insignificant but proposals have been made, "that would make it easier for more homeowners to build backyard cottages and mother-in-law units in Seattle...as the city faces an affordable housing crisis"(O'Brien).

The U-District is an always changing area that at the moment is being used for mostly student living. Currently my block serves the desires of the stutdents but 70-80 years ago, the block had another purpose. At one point in time, when the university was just a tiny school, this area was a popular and busy hub for social and business interactions. Over time the demographic changed and so did the purpose of each block individually. Gradually these blocks like mine that originally served another purpose slowly converted to a different societal demand and eventually the city as a whole has changed to better serve the people who live here. T