Seattle Forward

Letters from Second Grade

This week I visited a 2^nd grade classroom in my neighborhood to talk to them about life in the city. They each wrote letters to me expressing their concerns. Here are a few of them:

Dear Councilman Burgess, I am concerned about car break-ins. One day my family went out for dinner. When we came back, there was a big hole in the car window. My dad was upset that he lost his work backpack. I was so scared.

Dear Councilmen Burgess, Hi! I am 7 years old. And I am concerned about drugs. This year I have been seeing a lot of drugs. I HATE DRUGS! And I also am concerned about cars and speeding. We almost got in an accident a couple of days ago. Also, I hate trash. It can make animals sick. I am worried about animals especially the ones in the water. Can the city help?

A Safe and Clean Downtown

A safe and clean downtown is something we all want for our city. Taking a big step toward that end, the City Council voted unanimously yesterday to renew the Metropolitan Improvement District (MID) for 10 years and expand it to Belltown.

The MID is one of the city’s nonprofit Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) where landowners pay special assessments to contract with private firms that provide additional trash pick-up, alley cleaning and other services that make the neighborhood cleaner and safer. The Council considered this renewal and expansion after it was presented to the Council in a petition signed by a significant majority of the would-be MID ratepayers. Because state law limits City government’s ability to raise revenues, BIAs have become an important tool for business districts throughout Seattle to raise their own revenue to make their sidewalks, buildings and streets more inviting to residents and customers.  

Consistent with our focus on results, the Council amended the proposal to require a performance audit of the MID to ensure that these beneficial services continue to be provided in an effective manner.

Health, Crime and Growth in Southeast Seattle

Two events Saturday afternoon in southeast Seattle—one in the far south, the other up north at Franklin High School—highlighted the challenges and opportunities this culturally rich, growing and important area of our city faces.

We kicked off the afternoon with the grand opening of Neighborcare's sparkling, high quality medical and dental clinic in Rainier Beach.  Neighborcare is the city's largest provider of health services to our low-income and uninsured residents.  They also operate several of our school-based health clinics.

The new Rainier Beach clinic is the first of Neighborcare's facilities to combine dental and medical care at the same location. 

We moved to Franklin High School for a Great Cities event focused on the relationship between health, transportation, growth, and public safety. (Much more after the jump.)

Cutting Crime Through Design

Mayor McGinn is hosting a crime prevention seminar focused on street, sidewalk and open space design factors that are proven to reduce crime.  The details are here for this seminar in Seattle tomorrow evening.

Graffiti and Litter

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and I have asked the City Auditor to review the City's response to graffiti and litter and recommend ways to improve that response.  We have also asked that the Auditor review how other American cities handle graffiti and litter problems and recommend best practices we might follow here. 

Here is the letter Councilmember Rasmussen and I sent to the City Auditor: Download Jones letter 2010 02 04.

Recent academic studies confirm and quantify the connection between visible environmental disorder and higher rates of crime.  The study from the Netherlands focuses on the negative impacts of litter and graffiti, including documentation of the increase in crime that occurs when these environmental disorders are not cleaned up.  Here is the study from the Netherlands: Download Social Disorder Science 11-20-08.

And here is another study from the Boston area on crime control by paying attention to disorder: Download Criminology August 2008 Street Disorder.