Our Stories
One Seattle Plan
Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association
As part of our One Seattle Plan - the City’s policy plan for how to invest in communities over the next 20 years - we have partnered with five community-based organizations to engage with the BIPOC communities they serve. One of these groups is the Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA). As part of their engagement plan, DVSA youth leaders have chosen to pilot a new engagement technology, the Urban Belonging app, to document and analyze the conditions in their community as a way to provide feedback for what their community wants to see addressed in the One Seattle Plan.
Seattle's Central District
These are a series of stories of our Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) partners and Black-owned businesses in the Central District.
A Central Vision
In 2018 we partnered with Seattle filmmaker Inye Wokoma to create "A Central Vision", a documentary about the Central District. Watch a panel discussion about the film with community and city leaders, including former OPCD director Sam Assefa.
Africatown Community Land Trust
ACLT was formed to acquire, steward and develop land assets that are necessary for the Black/African diaspora community to grow and thrive in place in the Central District as well as support other individuals and organizations in retention and development of land.
Black-Owned Businesses in the Central District
Profiles of three Black-owned businesses, located in the Central District of Seattle.
Byrd Barr Place
Formerly known as Centerstone of Seattle, Byrd Barr Place nurtures an equitable Seattle by providing programs that enable people to live healthier, prosperous lives. They offer support for home heating assistance, housing assistance, healthy food access, and personal finance education to break the cycles of poverty. Byrd Barr Place also supports community engagement and partnerships to better understand the root causes of poverty and displacement in Seattle. The organization is named after Roberta Byrd Barr, a staunch advocate in Seattle Civil Rights movement who fought against school segregation.
Central Area Youth Association
CAYA was formed in the 1950's to organize and promote its youth football programs. In 1964, CAYA extended their services to provide education, recreation, and social development activities. Today, CAYA offers after-school tutoring, job readiness, art programs, and much more. Our EDI partnership supports CAYA's mixed use community center to accommodate growing programming needs, as well as affordable housing to mitigate displacement of our community.
Industrial and Maritime Strategy
Our Industrial & Maritime Strategy seeks to support and grow new economic opportunities in industrial areas. These series of videos highlight some of the diverse business owners, entrepreneurs and living-wage employees in Seattle's industrial areas and showcases some of the unique opportunities supported by this strategy.
Coastal Alaska Premier Seafoods
A company that provides long-term opportunities for those who want to work in the fishing industry.
Custom Crating
A family owned and operated crate and case manufacturer located in South Park.
Food Lifeline
Food Lifeline provides nutritious food to hundreds of thousands of people facing hunger every year by sourcing nutritious food from a variety of food industry partners; and advocates to shape policies by partnering with organizations that are addressing other causes of poverty, and through community engagement and mobilization efforts.
Lanier's Fine Candies
A candy manufacturer in Rainier Beach that is black-owned and operated.
Peddler Brewing Company
A family-owned micro-brewery in the Ballard, which boasts a taproom and large outdoor beer garden.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
We worked with AANHPI youth filmmakers to profile some of our Equitable Developent Initiative partners who are making a difference in AANHPI communities. These videos were made for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month of May.
Cham Refugees Community of Seattle
A nonprofit organization that provides Islamic educational, social, and cultural relevant services to Cham and other ethnic minorities in South Seattle and South King County for over 30 years. The organization plans to upgrade their existing location in South Seattle into a 12,000 square foot community center. The Development will be sharia-compliant and will expand programming for youth, the elderly, and disabled members of the community.
Friends of Little Saigon
Formed in 2011 to promote, plan, and advocate for their neighborhood, located in the Chinatown-International District. The Little Saigon Landmark Project seeks to address displacement amongst local businesses and development pressures due to rising rents. The facility will be a gathering place that will bring together the district's cultural, shopping, and culinary aspects in a distinctive physical anchor. The mixed-use project will include a cultural center, Southeast Asian grocery, Emerald Night Market, and restaurant. Each component of the development will reflect Vietnamese Americans' rich culture, history, and future.