Report plans for future of Puget Sound region… in 2050
Jul 23, 2019, 5:23 PM
In this Feb. 23, 2018, file photo, a ship carrying four of the West Coast's largest container cranes passes through Puget Sound in view of Seattle and headed to Tacoma, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
What will Seattle and its surrounding areas look like almost 30 years from now? That’s exactly what the Puget Sound Regional Council is looking to figure out, with the release of its “Vision 2050” report.
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The report paints in broad strokes for what the council hopes to achieve across King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap counties by 2050, detailing a variety of goals across transportation, climate, housing, jobs, and more.
The PSRC — comprised of representatives from government agencies across Puget Sound — expects the region to grow by 1.8 million people by 2050, bringing its total to 5.8 million. It also anticipates 1.2 million additional jobs, for a population it predicts will be “older and more diverse with smaller households.”
“Planning for this much growth is difficult, and VISION 2050 recognizes that local, state, and federal governments are all challenged to keep up with the needs of a growing and changing population,” the report reads.
The 142-page report is largely aspirational, but covers a good deal of ground. The goals it outlines cover everything from “building more diverse housing types” for low income residents, to “significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
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It also calls for an emphasis on a “high capacity transit network,” a “comprehensive” regional housing strategy, and the implementation of a jobs program to “open economic opportunities to everyone.”
Early work on Vision 2050 began back in 2017, following by research and planning the following year, and then a draft of the plan in 2019. By 2020, the council hopes to adopt the plan to kick off its 30-year timeline. Back in 2008, it originally called for a plan extending out to 2040, before expanding its scope another decade.
You can read the report here, and get a full picture of what the PSRC is looking to achieve 30-plus years into the future of the Puget Sound region.
