Cascade Agenda Cities program grows to an even dozen

Regional program assists cities in becoming more livable

The Cascade Agenda Cities program welcomed its 12 member late last month after the Lynnwood City Council voted to join one of the fastest growing urban programs in the country.

In January, the City of Tukwila voted 7-0 in favor of becoming the 4th Cascade Agenda Leadership City.  The Conservancy and its Stewardship team have long been partners with other groups in work at the Duwamish Riverbend Hill in Tukwila.

The Cascade Agenda Leadership Cities are Tacoma, Kirkland, Issaquah and now Tukwila. Cascade Agenda Member Cities are Shoreline, Ellensburg, Edmonds, Snohomish, Mountlake Terrace, Buckley, Mill Creek and now Lynnwood. Leadership cities take additional steps to implement the goals of The Cascade Agenda in their jurisdictions.

The Cascade Agenda Cities Program, part of the Cascade Land Conservancy’s efforts to implement The Cascade Agenda, enlists the region’s cities to improve the livability of our communities - making them complete, compact and connected - and spectacular enough to make people choose to live there, saving the region’s natural and working lands.

The program seeks to educate partner cities about what it takes to become a truly livable city, help these cities - and their citizens - understand their options and make smart choices for future growth and provide a framework for continuous improvement and sharing best practices that enables cities to make their communities better and better.

“The Cascade Agenda Cities Program is an important complement to the Conservancy’s work in land conservation,” said Jeff Pavey, the Conservancy’s Cascade Agenda Program Director. “Making our cities and towns spectacular places to live is key to our success in reaching the goals of The Cascade Agenda and maintaining our quality of life and economic prosperity for the next 100 years.”

The Cascade Agenda Cities Program envisions cities that are complete, compact and connected.
•    Complete - Urban neighborhoods have a vibrant mix of people, public gathering places, civic and cultural anchors and retail establishments.
•    Compact - New development is designed to make neighborhoods efficient, walkable and affordable.
•    Connected - People live near transit connections and can walk and bike safely to daily destinations.

The program also has developed a process to foster local innovation in land-use policy and programs, helping cities in developing and adopting policies and programs that will result in on-the-ground improvements in urban livability.