Speaking of Seattle, Why Not Learn About It's Urban Landscape?
Honors 232 was not at all what I was expecting when I read the course title and description, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I grew up moving around a lot as a kid but we spent a seven years in the Seattle area which always made it feel a little like home. So in my return to the region I once called home I thought, why not learn about the history of the area and the complex social dynamics that are in play as a result of the way the Seattle came up as an urban center.
One of the things that I am most grateful for that I got to experience while in Seattle was connecting more to the region than I had previously. The Honors program's diverse course offerings foster unique perspectives on concepts that are usually thought of in a different way, The Ecology of Urban Seattle was no different in this regard. I lived in Seattle for the better part of a decade throughout my life and this course taught me about the city in a way that I hadn't even dreamed of before. I recognize that I have been quite fortunate in my life in the opportunities that I have had and the places that I have lived and going out and seeing the disparate neighborhoods of the city that I wouldn't have otherwise gone to widens my point of view that was so narrow before.
In the course we had two class meetings each week one being dedicated to the explanation of the history of a neighborhood and the other being used to go on a field trip to that neighborhood and get a first person's perspective on the demographics, architecture, topographical features, and the relationship between the neighborhood and the rest of Seattle. This was quite the experience as there are neighborhoods that I have never been to and so visiting them was really surreal and was able to put into context the city as a whole rather than just a couple of places along the I-5 corridor.
Another interesting point brought up in the course that has stuck with me is the importance and development of the light rail. Evidently, historically their was a railcar line that brought people into the city center when Seattle was in its infancy, and now the light rail is a modern equivalent that acts as a great equalizer. It serves this function by providing seamless transportation from across the greater Seattle area to nearly anywhere at an affordable price. Just as a river and bodies of water used to be gathering places for people to congregate the light rail serves a similar purpose by having people incentivized to construct buildings along the path that the link takes, specifically at the stops, providing places to work and bringing more job and living opportunities. This can help in the effort to revitalize communities that have been struggling and seeing home prices rise and having to live further aways from where they work.
"Penny lane is in my ears and in my eyes. There beneath the blue suburban skies."