For people at the extremes, Seattle’s boom is either the beginning of the end of the city, or the best way we level up.
The only thing we know for sure? Seattle’s boom is what we make it. We’re the fastest growing city in the U.S., and it’s on us to make sure this influx of people, energy, and resources adds up to a home we’re more proud of than ever.
So what worries us about Seattle’s growth? What are we afraid of, and what does that tell us about the kind of city we all want? You sent us these questions, and here’s what the group of Seattle natives transplants we talked to had to say…
- “The growth has been good but I think it’s really worth interrogating — good for who?” — Anthony Shoecraft
- “I don’t want Seattle to lose that edginess and that grit, and that, you know, not standing for the status quo.” — Kjerstin Wood
- “I just hope that everyone who is moving here doesn’t just try to recreate San Francisco.” — Clare Sayas
- “The place that I hold dear, the Central District, is the latest to be gentrified in a major way.… People look at me funny when I’m in that neighborhood nowadays.” — E.C. Parker
- “We know that we can’t keep the great city to ourselves all the time. We just worry that, I think, people who come here might not understand what we love about it and might change things too quickly.” — Casey McNerthney
>> Watch the full video above for more perspectives, then go to our Facebook page and tell each other: What worries you most about Seattle’s rapid growth?
Thanks to our series sponsor, Seattle CityClub, for making these videos possible, and check out the 2017 Greater Seattle Civic Health Index for how on how we’re all getting along. Thanks, too, to your neighbors quoted above — plus Dorothy Thomas, Dominick Garrett, Evan Clifthorne, Knute Berger, and Brian Nash — for speaking out in the video. And to James Andrews and Anika Anand for producing it.