Speak up for affordable housing and rezones: Public input for Mandatory Housing Affordability rezones, outside the central city, officially kicks off this week in District 4. The city is soliciting public comment over a few months before any plan is implemented. One of the first public meetings on this will happen on Tuesday, January 30th from 6pm to 8pm at Hamilton International Middle School. There will undoubtedly be angry anti-HALA residents there, maybe with pictures of Rob Johnson as the Grim Reaper. Urbanists are needed to show wide support for these rezones.
Get involved with Housing For All, attend their kickoff: We’ve talked previously about this campaign. They were behind the push for the HOMES tax last year. Their kickoff event for this year was postponed and is now taking place on Wednesday, January 31st at the Labor Temple.
Submit an idea to Your Voice, Your Choice: This program funds ideas submitted by Seattle residents. The available money has been expanded this year, so even more projects will likely be funded. It’s a great way to think about how you could improve urbanism in your neighborhood and actually get money to see the project completed. The deadline for submissions is this Friday, February 2nd.
Join the People’s Academy For Community Engagement: This is a set of classes designed for young people to formalize their understanding of political engagement and become better organizers. The commitment is a four hour class for three to four weeks.
Owen Pickford
Owen is a solutions engineer for a software company. He has an amateur interest in urban policy, focusing on housing. His primary mode is a bicycle but isn't ashamed of riding down the hill and taking the bus back up. Feel free to tweet at him: @pickovven.