OPCD will be hosting Urban Innovations to increase public awareness of global best practices to achieve an integrated approach to planning for livable cities.

Topics will include:

affordable housing
urban design for community health
community-based resilience
new trends in urban development
integrated land use, open space, transportation design and sustainability

The series will bring recognized experts to Seattle, joined by local and regional speakers to help ground the series in issues specific to Seattle and the region.

To kick off the series on March 7th, Sam Assefa will welcome his fellow planning directors from Vancouver, Portland and San Francisco to discuss their efforts to support more affordable housing. West Coast cities continue to struggle with high housing costs. Low and moderate-income housing is difficult to develop given today’s methods of building and price of land. Yet innovations are being pursued and this discussion will identify intersecting strategies that create opportunities to address the challenge. Local experts will share their experiences with innovative public and private strategies being implemented here to address this need.

Creating affordable housing: Lessons from Vancouver, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle
March 7th, 5:30pm, Seattle Central Library