Seattle is one of the most politically progressive and economically dynamic cities in the contemporary United States. This book explores Seattle’s current climate policy agenda and future climate challenges within the context of its historical, bio-regional, and metropolitan settings. While practitioners and academics have lauded Seattle’s urban sustainability and climate action efforts for many years, the analysis here focuses especially on mounting political concerns with social equity, income polarization, and racial justice in a “high-tech” city-region already experiencing the deleterious effects of global climate change. Drawing on a framework first suggested by the Urban Climate Change Research Network, the discussion considers major research themes like mitigation and adaptation policies; Seattle’s regional, national and international participation in climate action networks; disaster risk reduction and risk assessment; and the impacts of climate change and climate policy formation on the city’s most disadvantaged populations. Climate Change and the Future of Seattle will, therefore, be of wider interest to scholars and students at all levels in urban planning, human geography, political science, urban studies, public administration, and sustainability studies.
Author(s): Yonn Dierwechter
Series: Anthem Environment and Sustainability Initiative
Publisher: Anthem Press
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 131
City: London
Cover
Front Matter
Half-Title
Series page
Frontier page
Title page
Copyright information
Contents
Illustrations
Abbreviations
Chapter 1-5
Chapter 1 Introduction: Changing Seattle
The Urban Climate Change Research Network and the Second Assessment Report for Climate Change and Cities Framework
Assessing Seattle’s Climate Traits Relationally within the ARC3.2 Framework
Emerald Policies, Elite Pressures: Mapping “Urban Transformation” in Seattle
Plan for the Book
Chapter 2 Background: Seattle’s Green Development Story
Origins, Development Patterns, and Contemporary Demographics
Review of the Political and Governance System
Seattle’s Main Climate Change Challenges and Primary Infrastructural Risks
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Current Situation: Building a “Climate-Friendly” City in an Unsustainable World
Green Shoots: From “Environmental Conservation” to “Urban Sustainability”
The “Carbon Turn”: From Urban Sustainability to Global Climate Action
Toward a Sustainable Seattle: A plan for managing growth, 1994–2014
The Twenty-First Century Evolution of Planning Justly for Climate Change
The 2006 climate action plan: Meeting Kyoto’s challenge through carbon mitigation
The 2013 climate action plan: Adapting with just resiliency
Preparing for a Changing Climate: Institutional Responses
Seattle-in-Networks: Trans-Local Climate Advocacy
The Mayors Climate Protection Agreement: Redressing federal inaction
Seattle’s transnational climate participation
Green city-regionalism: KC4 between city and suburb
Conclusion
Chapter 4 The Future: Climate Change, Social Vulnerabilities, and the Transformational Agenda
The Next Hundred Years: Twenty-First Century Climate Change in Seattle
Socio-Spatial Vulnerabilities: People, Institutions, Water
Seattle Public Utilities: Mitigating vulnerabilities, adapting creatively?
Assessing the Probability of Urban Transformation
Integrating mitigation with adaptation
Coordinating disaster risk reduction with climate change adaptation
Cogenerating risk information
Advancing networks
Focusing on disadvantaged populations
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Conclusion: Seattle’s Lessons
End Matter
References
Index
