Seattle broke ground today on a new 1.3-mile streetcar line that could one day link a series of dense, livable in-city neighborhoods. But let's not forget how incremental this step is.
Take a look at this thoughtful story that the Seattle Times resurfaced online today. Writer Bill Dietrich shows in painful (for a Seattleite, anyway) detail how the Vancouver and Portland have become models for development while the Seattle area has dithered.
It's all here: the historical differences between the cities, the different mentalities about growth and the prospects for the future. Dietrich describes what I've sensed over and over during trips north and south -- Seattle has wasted its opportunity. And he includes a challenge:
IF ALL THIS seems a little harsh, go visit downtown Portland and Vancouver. If you haven't been there for awhile you'll be astounded by their urban atmosphere. Ask yourself why our downtown parks are so few and uninviting, in comparison. Why our waterfront access pales. Why our transportation choices are so much more limited. Why our sidewalks are plainer, our street trees fewer, our housing choices narrower, our towers uglier, our choices so nonsensical.
Cascadia has grown more integrated since this article appeared. But I wonder how much we've learned?