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Because Boston’s growth is all on the high end. Big inward migration of white collar professionals. Big outward migration of the middle class priced out of the housing market. The poor pinned in place by the generous safety net. The education level of the population is #1 in the country. On the world class city ranks, Boston has climbed over the last decade. Lots of nonstop service to Asian cities that didn’t exist a decade ago. A huge number of transatlantic city pairs. What it didn’t see is the huge population growth and middle class job growth that tend to drive the rankings here on C-D. Four $50k office drone or factory jobs are weighted heavier than one $250k tech/biotech job. If you got Cs in High School and maybe did some community college, you’re not moving to Boston. The rents are too high and home prices are crazed. If you look at venture capital investment to create intellectual property, what really matters in the 21st century global economy, California is 10x bigger than anyone else. New York and Boston are #2 & #2A. They’re both easily twice the size of the regions behind them.
Um, those jobs you appear to look down your nose at include things like teachers, firefighters, police officers, librarians, sanitation workers, and many others whose presence is absolutely necessary for the biotechies to live in relative comfort and safety, and their kids (and maybe even themselves) to learn and grow.
It reminds me of a corny joke I once heard:
"Any society that tolerates shoddy philosophy because philosophy is a noble calling, but ignores excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a mere trade, will not long endure, for neither its theories nor its pipes will hold water."
I think that the problem of the disappearing middle is a bigger one than many of those superstar job-holders acknowledge.
Or have I misread you, and those too-damn-high rents and house prices are a subject of concern to you as well?
This is all pretty spot on - but another point to make is that Seattle needs to get bolder about upzoning to meet the demand that comes with being a “Superstar” city. The urban village boundaries and multi-family/mixed-use areas need to grow more, or perhaps even something similar to what Oregon did, where they basically banned SFH zones.
This is a city that should be allow for density everywhere. Picture the mix of housing stock between Market and 65th in Ballard - that’s what all of Seattle’s single family home zones should look like.
Agreed we need to keep upzoning. But we've made some progress (offset by massive fees that make most things expensive). Most single family plots allow two small accessory units. The urban village zones have all been expanded to be a little taller (or a lot taller) with some additional areas zoned for density, cutting the single family (with accessory) area from maybe 65% to now 60%.
Putting most of our growth into perhaps 20% of the city has a side effect: it's mostly a short walk from transit (mostly buses of course), vs. a townhouse city where a lot of people are a long way from transit.
In terms of urban transformation, looking back over the last 10-15 years, Seattle transformed more than any other city. Amazon dropping 50k high paying jobs into a previously somewhat sleepy downtown was a game changer. Prior to that the job centers in the region had been dispersed throughout the region:
Major Employers:
Microsoft: Redmond
JBLM: south of Tacoma
Boeing: Renton/Everett/S.Seattle
Costco: Issaquah
Starbuck: SODO
T-Mobile, Expedia: Bellevue
UW: Seattle north of downtown
15 years ago South Lake Union was a warehouse district (and that's being generous.) Now it is the employment core of the region, the area with the greatest housing and density growth, and has become arguable the urban tech center (given that most Bay Area tech campuses are more suburban.)
Other cities arguably may have grown faster, but I'm not sure any have changed their downtown urban character more (for better or worse.) And the aftershocks of that growth will be felt over the next decade as these new urban neighborhoods mature.
Agreed we need to keep upzoning. But we've made some progress (offset by massive fees that make most things expensive). Most single family plots allow two small accessory units. The urban village zones have all been expanded to be a little taller (or a lot taller) with some additional areas zoned for density, cutting the single family (with accessory) area from maybe 65% to now 60%.
Putting most of our growth into perhaps 20% of the city has a side effect: it's mostly a short walk from transit (mostly buses of course), vs. a townhouse city where a lot of people are a long way from transit.
I'm looking at purchasing soon. Can you recommend any of the villages? Currently live in downtown Bellevue.
I'm looking at purchasing soon. Can you recommend any of the villages? Currently live in downtown Bellevue.
I'd recommend looking into Wallingford, Roosevelt, Phinney/Greenwoood, Columbia City, Hillman City, Madison Valley/Madison Park, Central District, Alaska Junction, Eastlake, Fremont, and Ballard.
If you want to be closer to the urban core than look at Lower Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, and First Hill.
I'd recommend looking into Wallingford, Roosevelt, Phinney/Greenwoood, Columbia City, Hillman City, Madison Valley/Madison Park, Central District, Alaska Junction, Eastlake, Fremont, and Ballard.
If you want to be closer to the urban core than look at Lower Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, and First Hill.
University Place is just outside of Tacoma, and a good, but fairly suburban option if you work near there. It offers good value for the region, but it would not be a place I'd want to commute from if you need to get to Seattle. There is terrible traffic both around Tacoma and then into Seattle on I-5.
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