Crisis Response: Building Equitable and Resilient Transit Communities at Scale

Washington State’s Puget Sound Region faces a crisis. A shortfall of over 156,000 affordable housing units has yielded the nation’s third largest population of people experiencing homelessness, which disproportionately impacts people of color. Without swift and decisive action at scale, the crisis will worsen as the region is expected to grow by an additional 1.8 million residents by 2050. At the same time, the region is investing nearly $56 billion in light rail and bus rapid transit with over sixty additional high-capacity transit stations scheduled to open between now and 2041. Sound Communities, a volunteer group of civic leaders from the public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors, including architecture and real estate faculty from the University of Washington, is focused on leveraging this historic transit investment to address the region’s housing and climate crises at scale by building complete, equitable and resilient communities with an abundance of affordable housing, public open space, and neighborhood amenities at station areas. With funding from the JP Morgan Chase Foundation and Washington State Department of Commerce, the group is working with elected leaders, city staff, technical advisors and community stakeholders from multiple jurisdictions in designing and advocating for an entity, the Housing Benefits District, that will ensure that all of the region’s residents prosper from its historic transit investment.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AIA.Inter.22.15

Volume Editors
Gail Napell & Stephen Mueller

ISBN
978-1-944214-42-13