Former Mayor Mike McGinn is an urbanist who is deeply informed by his sense of place, drawing inspiration from his home neighborhood of Greenwood. Formed by being on the periphery of the city limits, Greenwood still bears the structures that define a modern urban neighborhood and those that show a suburban outpost. This shows us much more than we might learn from scoping out a purely center city urban area.
This past Saturday, Urbanist readers had the benefit of being taken on a walking tour of the highs and lows of Greenwood by the former Mayor of Seattle and environmental leader Mike McGinn. We have recreated a bit of the highlights from our walking tour to give you an idea of what we covered.
Mike is kicking off the walk on “I-85”. pic.twitter.com/p4p4vWRUxT
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike points out how great the street is, but it quickly changes north of 85th St. pic.twitter.com/sdMES40nwL
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
We arrived at the park! pic.twitter.com/OdGNs62QHY
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike talks about why many of the neighborhoods in north Seattle have defined business districts. Spoiler: streetcars pic.twitter.com/6FxMUtP4Cm
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike talks drainage. Hey, it’s good stuff. The park is a bioswale and sends water to Greenlake by design. pic.twitter.com/Zp2iLZjBeL
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Sidewalks north of 85th St are patchy, but this one is continuous and porous. pic.twitter.com/8synmxKYcx
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
“Signals to be slow”—streets like this are mental cues to be slow. pic.twitter.com/MS2gnxaevk
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
These sidewalks are asphalt and stamped with some design. Looks a lot like concrete and feels like it. pic.twitter.com/yyilA8qvo5
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike says that most areas zoned for lowrise housing had lowrise housing before they were ever zoned; largely the same today.
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike says that removing parking minimums is key to unlocking traditional design.
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike talks retail and what zoning laws require. He explains that where demand is—like old homes on Wallingford that converted—retail appears
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Family Cyclery is back open further north on Greenwood. pic.twitter.com/pysq7svq9K
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
A mid-block through connection has recreated granular traditional design (used to be parking and strip commercial). pic.twitter.com/sCqih7mMsP
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
More of the newish through-block. pic.twitter.com/JuMjyQ2ML2
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike takes us to low-income housing next to a car sewer. Explains that ground retail was required, not well used. pic.twitter.com/J6ILSa3FmO
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike points to “the original microhousing units” in Seattle. Says there’s nothing new about this. pic.twitter.com/wvTXmoEMcf
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Mike wraps up the tour and says that people should get in engaged with their communities. pic.twitter.com/MG9WD6a92o
— The Urbanist (@UrbanistOrg) May 7, 2016
Stay tuned for the next Urbanist walking tour, where we get down to the nitty gritty in what makes the city function.
Ryan Packer has been writing for The Urbanist since 2015, and currently reports full-time as Contributing Editor. Their beats are transportation, land use, public space, traffic safety, and obscure community meetings. Packer has also reported for other regional outlets including Capitol Hill Seattle, BikePortland, Seattle Met, and PubliCola. They live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle.