Seattle Geographies

Seattle is located on the northwest edge of the continental United States, flanked by two mountain ranges and set on the calm shores of Puget Sound. It is remote from the country's hub but a portal to Alaska and Asia. It is widely considered liberal and green, but such a characterization oversimplifies a city of many idiosyncrasies and contradictions.

Seattle Geographies explores the human geography of the city and region to examine why Seattle is Seattle. The contributors to this volume look into Seattle's social, economic, political, and cultural geographies across a range of scales from neighborhoods to the world. They tackle issues as diverse as economic restructuring, gay space, trade with China, skateboarding, and P-patches. They apply a geographic perspective to uniquely Seattle events and movements such as the WTO protests and grunge. They also look at homelessness, poverty, and segregation. Guided by a strong sense of accountability to place, these geographers offer a wide, multifaceted portrayal of the city and its region.

For more information go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eQXCQoqIKU

Michael Brown is professor of geography at the University of Washington. Richard Morrill is professor emeritus of geography at the University of Washington.

Acknowledgments

1. Introducing Seattle Geographies

Richard Morrill, William Beyers, and Michael Brown

2. Economic Geographies

William Beyers, Richard Morrill, James W. Harrington, Charles W. Kauffman, Nicholas Velluzzi, Kam Wing Chan, and Spencer Cohen

- Economic Geography of the Region Over Time

- Geographies of Employment

- Local Entrepreneurship

- From Wheat to Wine

- Trade with China

- The Fifty-Year Career of an Economic Geographer

3. Global Geographies

Matthew Sparke

- The Competitive Global City

- The Collaborative Global City

- The Curative Global City

4. Rural Geographies

David Barker, Anne Bonds, Jennifer Devine, Lucy Jarosz, Victoria Lawson, Lise Nelson, and Peter Nelson

- Recent Demographic and Economic Trends

- Beyond the Dominant Image

- Rethinking the Rural Northwest

5. Political Geographies

Larry Knopp, Richard Morrill, Steve Herbert, John Carr, Timothy Nyerges, Kevin Ramsey, Matthew W. Wilson, and Sarah Elwood

- A Web of Jurisdictions

- Electoral Geographies

- The Paradoxes of Social Control in Seattle

- Whose Public Space?

- GIS and Regional Transportation Decision Making

- The Alaskan Way Viaduct, Climate Change, and the Politics of Mobility

- Coding Community

- Nonprofit Organizations and the Urban Political Geographies of Seattle

6. Social Geographies

Richard Morrill, Suzanne Davies Withers, Tony Sparks, Tricia Ruiz, Mark Ellis, Catherine Veninga, Kim England, Gary Simonson, Michael Brown, Sean Wang, and Larry Knopp

- The People of Seattle

- Riding Out the Storm

- Notes from Seattle's Tent City 3

- Turning Back the Clock: The Resegregation of Seattle Public Schools

- For Whom Did School Desegregation in Seattle Work?

- Spatial Stories: Belltown, Denny Hill, and Pike Place Market

- Gentrification and the "Stayers" of Columbia City

- Queering Gay Space

7. Cultural Geographies

Katharyne Mitchell and the 2010 Geography Undergraduate Honors Students: Mikail Aydyn Blyth, Ethan Boyles, Sofia Gogic, J. E. Kramak, Rita B. Lee, Hayley Pickus, George Roth, Anne Steinberg, Nicole S. Straub, Lola S. Stronach, and Carl Urness

- The Salmon: Our (Conflicted) Heart

- From Industrial to Postindustrial City

- Coffee and the Era of the "Microsofty"

- Reconnecting to the Earth

- Grunge: Seattle's Alternative Music Scene

- Diversity and Art in Seattle's Neighborhoods and Trails

- The Olmsted Legacy

- The Cultural Legacy of the WTO

Appendixes

Contributors

Credits

Index