The Seattle Central District (CD) Over Eighty Years

Abstract

The evolution of Seattle's “Central Area” or “CD” is traced for eighty years from 1930 through 2010. Relevant theory about social and economic discrimination and urban development is presented first. This is followed by a brief history of the Central Area as a black community and a review of relevant literature. The changing distribution of the Central Area is presented through a series of maps, from an unexpected origin and development in a relatively desirable area east of downtown Seattle to its gradual displacement far southward, as central Seattle experienced gentrification. This spatial change is evaluated with respect to the expectations from theory presented earlier.

Margaret O’Mara, The Code. Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America reviewed by Antti Tarvainen

“…The same developments are also evident in the wider Bay Area and in new high technology cities, such as Seattle (see Noble and Roberts, 2019, p.12). In the central district of Seattle, a historical centre for the Black community since 1920s, the proportion of African residents has dropped 6% since 2010, when Amazon started to take over the city centre (Morrill, 2013;McCartney, 2019). While the US technology giants are quick to join the anti-racist imaginaries -as in the case of Black Lives Matter movement (Paul, 2020) -their urban practices seem to reinforce racial divisions.…”

Seeking Northlake: Place, technology, and public as enabling constraints for urban transdisciplinary research

“…As we began our initial inquiry into Northlake, it was clear that it, in fact, possessed a rich history, driving Seattle's development and transition at key moments. From its early role as a site of trade and commerce, to later uses as a distribution hub for regional extractive industries, including a large-scale coal gasification plant, to the remediation and adaptation of that plant into a popular city park, Northlake has been the site of important economic, social and environmental shifts emblematic of larger forces shaping Seattle and beyond (Klingle 2007;Morrill 2013;Sanders 2010;Thrush 2007). The University of Washington has become a key player in Seattle's urban development surrounding Lake Union, particularly in the realm of biotechnology and life science research, which helped identify Seattle as a 'curative city' (Sparke 2011).…”