Community
Indicators
Example Work:
Seattle, Washington
Sustainable Seattle is an award winning, volunteer-based civic network and forum with a
focus on its metropolitan city/county area. It includes extensive community involvement and
sustainability education.
Background: Sustainable Seattle was founded in 1991 to protect and improve the area's
long-term health and vitality by applying sustainability to the links between economic prosperity,
environmental vitality, and social equity. The organization's primary objectives are:
- Make sustainability an intrinsic part of the public consciousness and inspire behavior
changes that will move the region in a more sustainable direction.
- Establish sustainability as a key criterion in policy, planning, design, and
decision-making at all levels of civic life.
- Encourage key institutions to incorporate sustainability principles and adopt
sustainable development practices.
Sustainable Seattle draws effectively on a wide spectrum of community life: civic and social
activists, students, business people, local officials, workers, professionals, religious leaders,
educators, scientists, and artists. Leaders in all these areas formed the Sustainable Seattle Civic
Panel in 1992 which reviews and refines the indicators. Partnerships have also been established
with city, county, state and federal agencies that have provided data and peer review.
Accomplishments
- Created one of the nation's first Indicators Of Sustainable Community, reported in
1993/1995. Involved over 300 local citizens in the project, distributing over 8,000 copies of the
report. The indicators reflect community values supported by well-documented data gathered
from a broad range of agencies and institutions in the area.
- Acted as a catalyst and participant in the development of indicators for the King
County Growth Management Plan (as required by the state Growth Management Act) and for
similar efforts around the Puget Sound area. Provided a reference for the Seattle Comprehensive
Plan Update, which was later named Towards A Sustainable Seattle.
- Served as a model for similar citizen projects in over 90 cities throughout the U.S.
and in numerous international cities, visiting many of these places to help initiate similar
efforts.
- Facilitated numerous roundtable discussions and workshops on sustainable
development with neighborhoods, businesses, public policy makers, and civic groups. Sponsored
a day-long conference of local planners, officials and neighborhood leaders in exploring
approaches to a Sustainable Development Assessment Framework.
- Developed a growing resource library of current information on sustainability trends
and practices, much of which is currently being used to develop a local Guide To Sustainable
Living.
- Created Making Connections, a handbook for people interested in volunteering on
projects related to moving the indicators toward sustainability.
- Participated in Seattle's neighborhood planning process by hosting workshops and
providing materials to groups for applying sustainability concepts in their plans.
- Collaborated with Redefining Progress and Tyler Norris Associates on the
development of The Community Indicators Handbook, a comprehensive indicators development
guide now being used nation wide.
Recent Publications:
Indicators of Sustainable Community, 1998
Contact Person:
R. Lee Hatcher
Executive Director
514 Minor Avenue N.
Seattle, WA 98109-5516
Phone (206) 622 3522
e-mail: sustsea@halcyon.com
Web site: 
http://www.scn.org/sustainable/susthome.html
http://www.sdi.gov/indicators/seattle.htm
Last Modified: 6/07/02
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