The City of Seattle is considered to be at the forefront of sustainability so it is only fitting that there be a Living Community within its boundaries. North Rainier is a Hub Urban Village with remarkable existing and potential strengths. Because of its close proximity to downtown, the numerous underdeveloped or vacant properties, the existing transit center and its ethnically and culturally diverse community, North Rainier is an ideal location for a model Living Community. As evidenced by the 2010 North Rainier Neighborhood Plan Update, there is also broad consensus among stakeholders that the area become a Sustainability Hub, with green jobs and training, green development, a Living Building Pilot Project, and green infrastructure which supports business development and the diversity that is an integral part of the neighborhood. The 2010 North Rainier Neighborhood Plan Update provides details about the community visioning process which developed these important goals. Now, six years later, the North Rainier Community is taking an important first step towards this becoming the model community that it envisioned, by registering for the Living Community Challenge.
