Proposition 1 tanked mostly likely in the suburbs of King County. Seattle will turn out to be much like Tacoma—an urban core that voted yes to save its bus system and surrounding suburbs that strongly and successfully voted no. But unlike Tacoma, Seattle has one more plan—plan C. But even if the plan were to work, even if we save metro for the inner city, it would still be a catastrophe for the poor because they are not a part of Seattle's future. From the ST article "Poverty hits home in local suburbs like S. King County":

Nowhere is suburbanization of poverty more evident than in South King County, where affordable housing has drawn immigrants and refugees coming here from across the globe as well as low-income families forced from Seattle by skyrocketing housing costs.

The findings are contained in a new book: “Confronting Suburban Poverty in America,” which examines this trend in the 100 largest metropolitan areas across the country, including the Seattle metro area, where 3.5 million people are spread across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.


Seattle is becoming like Manhattan in yet another way: It'll provide a functioning public transportation system for those who can afford to live in the core (professional/upper classes). As for the poor, they will be stuck in cars, lose time in long commutes, face huge transportation costs, and suffer the health problems related to suburban modes of living. Indeed, Seattle property owners who voted yes for Proposition 1 did so against their financial interests. Metro cuts will only increase the values of homes in the core—near Link, near remaining bus stops, walking distance to shops and bars and jobs. And if plan C passes, property values in the core will rise even more—functioning bus system near home and place of employment. There is no good news in any of this. The class and physical structure of the city is becoming medieval.
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