13.2.2 A A Lens on Seattle
Like many major American cities, Seattle experienced a period of rapid growth toward the end of the 19th century, prompting citywide planning activities to combat mounting public health concerns. As in much of the rest of the country, planning policies in the 1950s and 1960s emphasized single-family housing and freeway development, leading to sprawl. Economic and environmental decline in the 1970s prompted regional planning efforts designed to increase the city’s quality of life, such as park expansion. This period is characterized by a high degree of civic involvement, something that has come to characterize the city today. Ecological concerns strengthened in the 1990s (Dooling et al. 2006; Klingle 2008).