Image: SounderBruce
A lot of people from other parts of the country (See: York, New) seem really invested in what the future holds for Seattle. The New Yorker scared the bejesus out of us all with their earthquake report. Gawker wants everyone to know that Amazon ruined the entire town. Now the New York Times is wondering what Seattle can do to save it's soul as it grows up and gentrifies alongside the tech boom.
The crux of the piece revolves around Seattle's emerging reality that it's on the road to becoming the next San Francisco. In the Bay Area they worry that their losing their soul, artists are leaving in droves, affordable housing is nonexistent and pretty soon it'll just be a place for the wealthy and tourists.
"Seattle has wanted to be San Francisco for so long," said Knute Berger, a longtime chronicler of life in Seattle. "Now it's figuring out maybe that it isn't what we want to be." The concerns aren't without merit. These are the same worries that many in Seattle have had for a long time. Mayor Ed Murray is trying his damnedest to stop the tide by introducing new legislation for affordable housing, but is it too little too late? And will it make a difference in the end anyway?
The piece ends with a quote from Smart Growth Seattle' Roger Valdez, an advocate of high-density housing. "We're at a crossroads. One path leads to San Francisco, where you have an incredibly regulated and stagnant housing economy that can't keep up with demand. The other path is something different, the Seattle way."
The question is, do we know what The Seattle Way looks like?
· Seattle, in Midst of Tech Boom, Tries to Keep Its Soul [NYT]
· Did The New Yorker's Earthquake Article Scare the Crap Out of You or What? [CS]
· How Amazon Swallowed Seattle [Gawker]
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