What are Seattle Values
At the core of the community perspective is the desire for a community where everyone can thrive. As well, the City of Seattle lists four core values to foster a healthy and vibrant city.
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Community through developing strong connections between a diverse range of people and places
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Environmental Stewardship through protecting and improving the quality of our global and local natural environment
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Economic Opportunity and Security through maintaining a strong economy and creating pathways to employment
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Race and Social Equity through the sharing of resources and opportunities, and the inclusion of under-represented communities in decision-making
These four core values, as well as community perspectives, have shaped our vision and guided the creation of this report for addressing the housing crisis.
Current Values
How does the current situation attempt to fit the city's values?
The city is intent on addressing housing affordability in Seattle. Programs like Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA) Incentive Zoning (IZ), and the urban villages strategy have attempted to increase production of affordable housing units in zones with access to transportation and with attention to existing neighborhood characteristics.
For example, the MHA program, which applies to Urban Centers and Villages, contributed to the production of 684 units in the year 2020, through a combination of performance units (104) and in-lieu payments. Which allowed for the development of an additional 580 units through grants given by the Seattle Office of Housing Investment Fund.
There is an urgent need for housing that is affordable for all Seattle residents—middle-income teachers who must commute long distances, long-term elderly locals who must move out of the communities that they consider home due to extreme rent prices.
The current housing situation in Seattle does not fully align with the community’s and city’s values. The lack of affordable housing in Seattle affects communities of all income levels. Notably, under-resourced communities—such as low-income communities and communities of color—are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis particularly by gentrification, de facto segregation and hazardous environments.
Increased gentrification, a symptom of the lack of affordable housing and inability to afford higher rent prices, further damages these communities. The current housing crisis is responsible for many other detrimental aspects of society including:
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Most of these negative impacts would be at least partly addressed by providing social housing. This form of housing would be more affordable, enable the creation of mixed income communities which would also address racial segregation.