During the winter quarter of the 2018 academic year, the City of Tacoma Urban Forestry department partnered with University of Washington Livable City Year (UW LCY) on a project centered around green development and community engagement goals for the Tacoma Mall Neighborhood Sub area. This Sub area encompasses some of Tacoma’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods, with […]
University: University of Washington
User-Centered Design Research and Recommendations for the City of Bellevue’s Public Website
Effective and efficient communications with the public are critical following an emergency or disaster. However, sharing this life safety information is not helpful for individuals with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) who cannot understand everything being said. To address this issue, the Washington State Legislature approved RCW 38.52.070, which requires that all emergency communications be shared […]
Viability Research for a Small Business Incubator in Richards Valley
Does data make a Smart Building? Understanding your energy and water performance through a benchmarked “score” (e.g., a rating that compares against your peers such as the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey or EPA Portfolio Manager) is often touted as the first step to energy management. However, every building operator says that their building is […]
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A Roadmap to Civic Engagement
Civic engagement and communication is one of the most challenging responsibilities of a government organization. The renewed vision for equity and inclusion requires an accounting of existing methods of community outreach and civic engagement, so that Tacoma can more effectively understand and serve its diverse citizenry. In order to install best practices uniformly across all […]
Improving Emergency Communications with Limited-English-Proficiency (LEP) Chinese- and Russian-Speaking Communities
Building on work done to prepare for Fire Department re-accreditation, prepare outreach strategies using Community Risk Reduction (CRR) for our most at-risk populations. This effort would identify the risk factors, most effective engagement strategies, and resources. Additional information regarding CRR best practices can be found here. The Bellevue Fire Department’s CRR visualization tool can be […]
Health Assessment of a Neighborhood Enhancement Project
Bellevue Parks and Community Services seeks suggestions on improvements to current business intelligence efforts for its lines of business that generate $10M+ in revenue on an annual basis. The project team will be asked to evaluate existing data collection practices, to research needs through in-person and virtual outreach to department staff who consume data, and […]
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Community Engagement for Neighborhood Planning
Bellevue’s 16 neighborhood areas are characterized by diverse demographics and built and natural features. The city is initiating a neighborhood planning program that will rely on current and relevant data to illustrate the unique character of each neighborhood area and answer important questions. What features are important to improve or enhance? What trends indicate growing […]
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Planning Recommendations for a South Bellevue Mini City Hall
Bellevue’s multi-family neighborhoods have grown in recent years with development in the Downtown and BelRed. Multi-family residential environments are typically harder to reach through traditional city communication programs. The city is interested in research that will evaluate and assess best practices in outreach to those multi-family communities. Work includes development of new strategies, implementing pilot […]
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for Bellevue
Bellevue Botanical Garden (BBG) is a place of recreation, restoration, and education that is widely used by Bellevue citizens. It is also an increasingly important destination for visitors to the city. Students in a UW landscape architecture planting design seminar will develop planting plans for an undeveloped, but prominently located, portion of BBG. Their planting […]
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Transient Rentals Analysis
Bellevue City Council recently approved a new Land Use Code section for the Downtown (Downtown Livability) with the overarching vision to encourage creation of a more livable environment for Downtown workers, visitors and residents. Other more urban areas of the city (Bel Red District, Wilburton District, Eastgate and Factoria) are beginning to see substantive changes […]