 |
| Kay
Knapton, retired from the West Seattle Junction Association, talks
about neighborhood identity, something arguably lacking in Lake City. |
Lake
City neighbors gathered at the Community Center Tuesday night during a
"Coffee Talk" to hear from community planners in an event sponsored by
the American Planning Association's Community Planning Team and the Lake
City Neighborhood Alliance.
Featured speakers Kan Knapton and
Greg Easton spoke to residents about planning the future of Lake City,
considering the potential redevelopment of properties owned by the
Pierre Family.
For those that don't keep up with neighborhood
news, the Pierre family has approached members of the Lake City
community to share ideas as they consider redeveloping some of their
property in the neighborhood. The project is a long-term project, which
is offering a significant and unique planning opportunity for Lake City.
The opportunity seems to be attracting urban planners and others that
recognize the potential of redeveloping a large swath of an urban
community.
One particularly interesting item that was discussed by
Kay Knapton, retired from the West Seattle Junction Association, was
creating a neighborhood identity. We all know the identity that most pin
on a map of Lake City. That unfortunate caricature of our neighborhood
usually involves used car lots and strip clubs —instead of recognizing
our parks, walkable neighborhood*, green belts, urban stream, diverse
community or exploding population of young people.
"A unique image
helps local residents identify with their neighborhood and attracts
outside visitors. Identifying what is unique about community can create
an identity around existing assets," said Knapton.
As examples she used Fremont, its funky art and the
"Center of the Universe" theme, West Seattle and i
ts murals, Ballard with its
Scandinavian
flags, shops and art, the U. District with its connection to the
University of Washington.
An essay she wrote cited the Othello district
and its work with ethnic businesses to develop a retail district with an
international focus.
The examples of identity Knapton shared were all arts-oriented or population-oriented.
One
idea mentioned was to highlight Lake City's cultural diversity and work
to create an immigrant arts hub in Lake City. Lake City Greenways
members have also proposed creating community street murals in Lake City
to add a unique, identifying element to our neighborhood. Another
suggestion was to embrace Lake City's ties to the automobile with art
made from cars.
During the meeting other Seattle neighborhoods
were used as examples of successful community planning. West Seattle and
Columbia City were noted for their redevelopment, successful adoption
of an image and results that have become favorable to the community.
The
meeting was the first in a series of Coffee Talk meetings taking about
the future of Lake City. Future meetings will discuss transportation,
urban design and density and a final meeting is tentatively planned to
discuss housing and diversity.
We will let you know about future meeting dates so you can attend.
*Even without the benefit of sidewalks our neighborhood consistently scores high as a walkable community.
