Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, May 15, 2012
Transportation / City Sage Study Claims Light Rail is Pushing Minorities Out of Rainier Valley
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Tue, May 15, 2012 at 3:49 PM
This post has been updated.
The addition of light rail is driving up rents and hastening gentrification in one of Puget Sound's most racially diverse neighborhoods—Rainier Valley—and without aggressive new jobs and housing policies that favor working class families, the fabric of the neighborhood will be destroyed, argues a report released yesterday by Puget Sound Sage (formerly known as the Seattle Alliance for Good Jobs and Housing for Everyone, or SAGE).
"Since construction of the light rail land values around the stations have increased dramatically," says the Sage report. Already, minority populations are dwindling, the report continues, and "The presence of light rail stations in Rainier Valley is likely to cause more gentrification."
While the minority population grew by 47 percent over the last decade in King County (and the white population shrank by two percent), in Rainier Valley, the trend is reversed: Communities of color only increased by 5 percent over that same period—and the white population increased by 17 percent.
The study notes that 23 percent of low-income Rainier Valley residents depend on public transit to get to work (versus only 14 percent of their more affluent neighbors)—and thus would benefit the most from transit-oriented development.
"The report highlights, and we hear it over and over again, that the success of light rail threatens to destroy what we find beautiful in the neighborhood," explains Seattle City Council member Mike O'Brien, a staunch advocate for more light rail who expressed concern not only for low-income residents but for local businesses in the area. "The mix of cultural businesses is critical and they might not exist if real estate triples in the next few years. We're pretty good about housing in the city, but when it comes to affordable retail space, it's definitely a new field for us."
City officials have already recognized the importance of preserving south Seattle neighborhoods—most recently around the Othello light rail station, with a newly-launched city initiative that seeks to stabilize small businesses in the area and build a multicultural center for residents (here's a .pdf of the initiative). But Sage's new report, "Transit Oriented Development that’s Healthy, Green and Just," suggests it's not enough:
"Existing efforts are likely to fall short of stemming the tide of displacement or realizing a vision that puts racial justice at the center of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) planning," the study states. The goal of transit-oriented development is, of course, to encourage the growth of dense, walkable communities with healthy public transit options to reduce our reliance on cars.
Although it's short on details, the 50-page study lists 16 recommendations for curbing displacement along southeast Seattle's light rail corridor, including:
· Create "local, high quality jobs in TOD projects in Rainier Valley—including both short-term construction jobs and long-term, on-site jobs."
· Along those lines, the report also recommends pushing for higher wages at service-sector jobs along the light rail corridor—like at SeaTac airport, where current wages rival those of McDonald's employees.
· Ensure affordable childcare near light rail stations for working parents.
· Support "community-controlled development" to help "stabilize Rainier Valley residents"—in other words, promote nonprofit development projects, like El Centro de la Raza's mixed-use affordable housing and performance center space, in lieu of for-profit development projects.
· Turn surplus Sound Transit property into affordable housing and affordable commercial development projects through "joint development projects."
· Include communities of color in TOD decision-making, not just stakeholder meetings to achieve racial equity outcomes.
But the report neglects to explain how many of the recommendations could, or should, be implemented. What role does the city have in dictating working wages, for example?
"One of the tricks is figuring out how to do that," O'Brien says. Over the coming months, O'Brien is organizing meetings with his fellow council members and Sage representatives to figure out how the recommendations can be absorbed by various city entities and projects.
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Next up: SAGE Recommendes Lowering Rents in RV by Removing Electric and Sewer Services.
Adding transit, like any ammenity, will raise prices because people will want to live there. The logical solution is to add more housing. The less logical solution is to force fast food restaurants to pay white collar wages. (Breaking News: RV Loses Fast Food Restaurants, Remaining Few Automate Production and Sales)
4
It's called gentrification.
Besides, all the smart people of color have been migrating to Ballard for the last few decades. I don't recall any articles about Scandinavian Communities Under Assault ... people move. Race is such a 20th Century concept here in the West ... admittedly a big deal in the South and the racially separate communities in the East.
I wish Mike well in this, and I encourage affordable childcare near light rail stations, and the return of living wage jobs to SeaTac airport, but I'm not sure how this will really help. What would help more is PEOPLE ON THE EASTSIDE HIRING PEOPLE OF COLOR FOR MIDDLE CLASS WAGES. And by people of color I mean American Citizens, not H1-B visa holders.
5
Seriously, get a little out of your comfort zone sometimes.
So we've paid to build it, we have to pay again to let the po' live near it? Should have run the line Dow
99 straight to Seatac. At least then it wouldn't take a for-fucking-ever to make that trip.
7
-Rising property values (in the midst of the great recession)… such a problem to have!
“While the minority population grew by 47 percent over the last decade in King County (and the white population shrank by two percent), in Rainier Valley, the trend is reversed: Communities of color only increased by 5 percent over that same period—and the white population increased by 17 percent.”
-No, If the trend were reversed, the minority population would have shrank while the white population grew. More accurately, both populations grew with greater parity.
“The study notes that 23 percent of low-income Rainier Valley residents depend on public transit to get to work (versus only 14 percent of their more affluent neighbors)”
-Now we’ve transitioned from race to income… or are we to assume that minorities are poor and whites are rich… that’s pretty racist.
"The report highlights, and we hear it over and over again, that the success of light rail threatens to destroy what we find beautiful in the neighborhood,"
-Yes. Rainier Valley used to be so beautiful. Unbearably beautiful.
Fortunately, steps are being taken to halt all this distressing gentrification: http://seattletransitblog.com/2012/04/01…
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"One of the tricks is figuring out how to do that," O'Brien says. Over the coming months, O'Brien is organizing meetings with his fellow council members and SAGE representatives to figure out how the recommendations can be absorbed by various city entities and projects.
Yes, with a $30 million + deficit, that's going to be quite a trick.
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As @9 side, good luck fighting the tide on this one.
Also, you do know that this was the whole point to begin with, right?
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Seriously, you see more and more every day.
I didn't say they lived in The Highlands or on the view properties.
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Why do we spend money on this again?
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"We're pretty good about housing in the city", that's pretty rich. "Affordable retail space" -- there's almost no retail space in the Rainier Valley, for its size. What there is is in strip malls, which don't have the city seal of approval, but the city's alternative is...nothing. Most of the areas around the stations are in fact wastelands (aside from that one building next to Othello).
But apparently, I am a HUGE PROBLEM for my neighborhood.
Fuck you, SAGE. My block says fuck you and your statistics-driven reality. Down here on the block, it's cool, we're all just getting along, doing what we can/want, and we like each other.
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And I bet they hated you just as much as we do.
@7 You should double check the date on that article you linked to, shit-for-brains.
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Heck, there are 20 black families within three blocks of me in Fremont. But in Ballard, it's been changing over time, as the older Scandiwhovians died off. You'd know that if you paid attention.
Just look at the census data - although that will mask African-Americans since most check multiple boxes on the census form so a standard search by zip in 98117 won't show it, you have to do a multi-racial with at least one African-American answer search.
Seriously, we're becoming multi-ethnic faster than you all realize.
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The new school boundaries should fix that problem soon with all the Queen Anne and Magnolia kids now assigned there.
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You wouldn't recognize census data if it dropped on your house from an airplane.
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It's pretty predictable actually, any post regarding
Socio-economics, crime, or Dan Savage and his
cowardly, anonymous, basement dwelling ass is here
spewing the same Stormfront approved vitriol.
Get a life dude. Find some friends, get a REAL hobby.
I'm sure you're a swell guy in person, but when empowered
by anonymity and an impunitive mouthpiece, you
really let your freak, er, judgmental er, sanctimonious er,
bigot flag fly.
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Some people just don't like white folk. Those people should not be driving city policy.
37
It's pretty predictable actually, any post regarding
Socio-economics, crime, or Dan Savage and his
cowardly, anonymous, basement dwelling ass is here
spewing the same Stormfront approved vitriol.
Get a life dude. Find some friends, get a REAL hobby.
I'm sure you're a swell guy in person, but when empowered
by anonymity and an impunitive mouthpiece, you
really let your freak, er, judgmental er, sanctimonious er,
bigot flag fly.
38
just be honest when writing about the issue. the rate of increase is slowing down. sure, that is indicative of change. but not quite a "tide" yet.
big cities in the middle of big regions over time develop real estate values based on proximity to dowontown; the RC being a 20 minute ride away is valuable; this is normal. the folks who moved INTO RV 50 years ago also displaced someone else. the native americans who lived there displaced someone else. the zulus displaced someone else in southern africa, the vikings displaced someone else when they went to iceland or normandy, there's displacement happening all over. I am glad that north seattle is displacing older homeowner who never go out, the youngsters moving in support more bars and restaurants and it's nice. Let the oldsters move to sequim or the nursing hom or arizona. thehy get to displace people too. the minorities selling out of the RV moving to renton or south county are also displacing ....white people.....why is one displacement bad while other displacement is not bad? certain groups just monger grievances to get handouts from government and overly guilty liberals. of course if you build a $4 billion rail system, SFHs near the close to downtown stations will be more expensive. For ejveryone, poorer whites and poorer minorities. Where are the poor whites in this story, how come their inability to buy in RV now doesn't even merit a mention?
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