Blighted in Seattle: A Story of Land Grabbing Then and Now

Hope and Jackie talk about blight, aka the city's ability to seize land, and how it enabled Urban Renewal in a post WWII Seattle. They talk about the code enforcement program that was another tool for land grabbing, largely from Black families, and reference the 2021 Seattle Times piece written by Dr. Robert Jeffrey Sr. about the seizure of land from the New Hope Missionary Church.

Bringing it to the now, they talk about City Council's recent bill that allows the fire department to seize vacant land for demolition, pointing to the continuation of Seattle's land grabbing tactics.

They also seed the idea of "running" for the Planning Commission (not an elected office) and ask why orgs like Habitat for Humanity don't step in and help people with building restoration.

Thanks for listening!

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