Housing inequality is one of the most significant challenges facing future generations of Americans. The average homeowner in America has a net worth 36 times greater than the average renter. My senior project sought to illuminate the forgotten causes of this disparity and consisted of two distinct parts. First, I conducted a policy analysis reaching back to the 1920’s that identified and documented deliberate and explicit federal, state, and local policies blocking minority groups from homeownership. This analysis resulted in a cohesive narrative spanning 100 years of race-related exclusion in housing. Second, I studied potential solutions that would actively narrow the wealth gap between property owners and those denied access. After months of research I concluded that more than any other option, Community Land Trusts (CLTs) best balance the need for decent, dignified housing with the wealth accumulation benefits of homeownership for lower income people. Equipped with my historical narrative of inequality and deep appreciation for the benefits of CLTs I intend to help create the East King County Community Land Trust. The EKCCLT will offer homeownership opportunities to low-income people in wealthy suburbs of Seattle, east of Lake Washington.
Subject: Senior
Agreement and Dissent
A central question of group decision-making, and thus of community planning and politics, is how to balance democracy and efficiency. The status quo struggles with this balance, but so may consensus processes. While negotiating toward unanimity protects the right of minority views that would otherwise be consistently overruled, it also potentially allows anyone to stymie a decision being finalized. This project seeks to understand the applicability of consensus to various institutional settings. I ask, what institutions might benefit from its adoption and which would it generally worsen? What best practices would help it be most successful? To answer these questions, I researched the dynamics and contexts where consensus decision-making has been or still is practiced, to determine what makes it succeed or fail. I also interviewed peers and the public about their views on and expectations for consensus practice, and finally formed proposals for its expanded use, as well as some recommendations for how to make it work and where and when to avoid it. My recommendations are illustrated with case studies s taken from juries and event planning and consider to various levels the applicability of consensus to redistricting, land-use zoning, and the workplace.
Being Yourself at Your Most Vulnerable
The LGBTQ population are at many disadvantages when it comes to health and healthcare. LGBTQ are at higher risks of certain physical ailments, substances abuse, and mental health disorders then the general heterosexual population. The issue we see are many LGBTQ people feel that they are unable to feel welcome in healthcare settings, and with their healthcare providers due to the fear of rejection and discrimination. Since like all people, doctors do have biases whether conscious or not. The goal of this project is to compile a set of recommendations that can be used to help healthcare providers assure LGBTQ people they are safe in their clinics. I also have created a pocket size checklist of aspects to look for in a doctor’s office such as pride flags, among other aspects to help reassure LGBTQ people they are accepted and will be cared for. Through a series of in person interviews, surveys asking both LGBTQ members and their allies, and doctor office visits is where these recommendations and checklist will come from. This is an important step in helping combat the current health disparities we are seeing in the medical field towards LGBTQ people.
One Day My Story Gon’ Pay
My project aims to look at the barriers that Latino/a students face in higher education, including low high school and college graduation rates. In order to look at some of the barriers that prevent Latino/as from attaining similar levels of education as other Americans, I interviewed 10 Latino/a students about their experience with education so far. The main part of my project will look at my life as an example of some of the barriers Latino/as face in completing their education. Although I do not represent all Latino/as, I have a unique perspective even among Latinos that I feel can contribute to the field of Latino/a studies. My final piece will be my own autobiography. I hope that I can learn something substantial about myself while doing this autobiography. In addition, I hope others can look at me as an example that anyone, Latino/a or not, can compete their education regardless of their pathways.
Making Nothing Something
There is a common thread among contemporary circus art disciplines that is unique in the performance world. It is a blend of theater, dance, and acrobatic skill that can produce amazingly complex and captivating works. When comparing the choreographic processes of these performance mediums with the creative practices of solo contemporary circus artists, do new choreographic themes exclusive to circus arts become visible? Or does the essence of contemporary circus lie in the combination of standard techniques adopted from theater, dance, and acrobatics? An analysis of well-known work provides viewable examples of contemporary circus choreography, while local artist surveys provided seasoned, close-to-home examples of solo circus act creation on a professional level. In summary of my findings, I discuss the implications of choreographic methods in contemporary circus from the viewpoint of a solo artist and choreographer.
Reimagining Stormwater Infrastructure on Campus
With a campus of over seven hundred acres that borders two environmentally sensitive waterways, managing stormwater runoff is an important task for the University of Washington. Currently, the University meets the standards of stormwater management for new development dictated by local, state, and federal agencies, but incorporates very few of the latest and most environmentally sustainable methods of stormwater management. Moreover, the proposed Campus Master Plan, which emphasizes the creation of a more environmentally conscious campus, includes very little in the way of revising and retrofitting existing structures to better manage stormwater on campus. To begin addressing this gap, I have created a retrofit plan that incorporates modern methods of stormwater management based on an existing site on campus. My plan focuses on a single demonstration site, a redesign of the courtyard between Raitt Hall and Savery Hall adjacent to the central Quad. The proposal incorporates easily implemented infrastructure such as bioswales and permeable pavement to create a space that is both functional for its users and acts as a stormwater management site on campus. I chose this site to show how similar methods could be easily transferred to other parts of campus. By creating this design plan, I also demonstrate how the University of Washington could retrofit its existing structures so that they exceed local standards and become an example for other campuses looking to enhance their own stormwater management systems.
E-Kidts
Encouraging creativity among people is important, especially during their teenage years. Unfortunately, most educational projects lack excitement as well as practical applications. How can building an electric motorbike inspire the next generation of builders? Aimed to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM, I have created a consumer-direct kit where teenagers and adults alike are able to build and ride their own electric bike, capable of speeds up to 28 mph. The frame is made out of recycled High-Density Polyethylene plastic, HDPE, allowing the kit’s color to be customized while also remaining sustainable. Through the power of hands-on work, builders will have the exciting and rare opportunity to assemble their own electric bike. The next steps for this product are to continue research and development, identify a supplier and secure an intellectual patent to protect the E-KIDTS business model for further product development.
South Beacon Light Rail Accessibility
Geographical, and topographical barriers limit pedestrian accessibility to the light rail
station in South Seattle for residents living between S Holden and S Cambridge St on Beacon
Avenue. This project explores ways of overcoming these barriers. The project includes a site
analysis of the impacted area, interviews with local residents about their travel habits,
observations of foot traffic through the neighborhood, and an assessment of potential design
solutions. The final report recommends the development of a new trail system that would
increase the ease of pedestrian, bicycle, and wheelchair access to the station, while also
providing a valuable new open-space amenity for the area.
A Resident’s Guide to North Highline Annexation
Municipal Annexation is one of the most powerful tools in urban planning, yet its use often sparks controversy and drawn-out political conflicts. In the Seattle area, the potential annexation of the unincorporated area of North Highline has been a subject of debate for over a decade. Annexation studies on unincorporated areas in the Seattle region are common but almost universally focus on the impacts from the perspective of the annexing city. In this study, I design a report to investigate the practical impacts of the potential annexation of North Highline by Seattle on the residents and business owners of the area. This serves to educate residents and address their most common questions to allow for informed decision making in the case of an election as part of the annexation process. Using a variety of resources collected from the City of Seattle and King County, I create a report detailing the major changes in taxation, regulation, and services that will affect North Highline residents following annexation. This will serve as a basis for discussion in the community by providing a shared set of facts and a method by which individuals can come to their own conclusions regarding the prospect of annexation.
Dream Acres
Relevant to Western Washington State agricultural production, this project examines the impact of land use policy and related programs on the urban-rural divide in Pierce and King Counties. The urban-rural divide is a conceptual framework for understanding the social, economic, and political disparities between urban and rural life and how these disparities affect interactions within and across urban and rural communities. The policies and programs that are used to examine this conceptual framework are Agricultural Land Trusts, Agricultural Conservation Easements, Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements, Transfer of Development Rights, and Zoning. Farmers, planners, and policy-makers are interviewed to understand how the urban-rural divide impacts agriculture as a land use in the region. The results of this research can be applied to future policy-making and planning and used to promote planning practices that are more inclusive and representative of farmer needs.