Urban@UW - Papers and Reports

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/1773/53824

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type: Item ,
    Experiences in Implementing City University Partnerships (CUPs): Case studies and insights from the Emerald Corridor Collaboratory
    (2020) Beaudoin, Fletcher; Davison, Jennifer; Kamel, Nabil; Baer Kramer, Molly; MacDonald, Lindsey; Pilon, Angelique; Way, Thaisa
    To address pressing urban social and environmental challenges such as homelessness, displacement, pollution, the impacts of climate change and natural disasters, and dealing with decades of inequity, cities and universities can harness their relative strengths and create partnerships that generate new knowledge, approaches, and practices. If these city-university partnerships (CUPs) are designed with intentionality and a deep understanding of the respective goals and assets of each partner, they can substantially contribute to improving sustainability, economic health, and equity in their cities and regions. CUPs are not a new practice. Most academic institutions have some relationship with their local municipalities, and there are examples of established and successful formal CUPS, that offer frameworks and guides for such partnerships. See resources and reference section for examples. Relatively little, however, has been written about the institutional challenges faced in implementing and sustaining CUPs. Likewise, few resources have explored the unique, place-based context (e.g. history, capacity or resources) of different CUPs. Nevertheless, experience suggests that these different contexts heavily influence the shape of the collaboration and selection of projects, and can lead to very different approaches to and outcomes for the partnership. Additionally, the potential value of bringing together CUPs in a region to address place-based shared challenges (as opposed to a topical theme) has not been addressed. With support from the Bullitt Foundation, the Emerald Corridor Collaboratory (ECC) was established to explore how such gaps might be addressed. The ECC is composed of four city-university partnerships: the University of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver, BC; Western Washington University and the City of Bellingham, WA; the University of Washington and the City of Seattle, WA; and Portland State University and the City of Portland, OR. The Emerald Corridor comprises a sociopolitical geography within what is known as the Pacific Northwest or Cascadia region, which includes the province of British Columbia, Canada and the states of Washington and Oregon, United States. The ECC project focused on four cities within the region that were selected as representative urban areas hosting significant institutions of higher education. These cities share a moderate rainforest-type climate and analogous threats of climate change, a progressive liberal political leaning, and accelerated growth in urban and suburban developments. Furthermore, in spite of the international border, these cities are facing similar challenges of social inequities, environmental injustices, and homelessness. The location of major universities in each of the cities offers opportunities for significant collaborations between civic leaders and the academic community. Each city had some version of an existing CUP, at very stages of development, which provided a foundation for the regional collaboration and made up the core team for the ECC project. The goal of the ECC project was to advance the strength and productivity of the individual CUPs, to elevate a conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing the region, and to explore the utility of a regional network of CUPs for addressing these challenges. Throughout the project, each respective CUP worked on a local individual pilot project that functioned as a case study while simultaneously participating in collective activities, events and discussion to share experiences, challenges and learning. We sought to assess and document our experiences and learning, to produce useful insights for further development or refinement of CUPs so they can serve as a force for positive change within their cities. These experiences and insights are contained in this report.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type: Item ,
    Homelessness Research Initiative
    (2017) Urban@UW
    The crisis of homelessness is uniquely urban. At the intersection of housing markets, poverty, economic growth, population health, and other urban challenges, the issue of homelessness is both deeply complex and depressingly simple. Many share the value that every person deserves a place to call home, yet the path to ending homelessness is unclear and contested. With a growing number of people in our region experiencing homelessness, University of Washington faculty, students, and staff are working to have a positive impact. The Urban@UW Homelessness Research Initiative unites faculty efforts from across the University of Washington to address homelessness through a research lens. UW faculty have a long history of engagement with homelessness-related research—expertise that spans many disciplines and all three campuses. The Faculty Highlights Report showcases a sample of this research portfolio.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type: Item ,
    Impact of Hotels as Non-Congregate Emergency Shelters: An Analysis of Investments in Hotels as Emergency Shelter in King County, WA during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (2020-11-30) Colburn, Gregg; Fyall, Rachel; Thompson, Samantha; Dean, Taquesha; McHugh, Christina; Moraras, Pear; Ewing, Victoria; Argodale, Sarah
    In April 2020, King County, Washington, took an unprecedented step to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. King County Executive Dow Constantine and Public Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Duchin acted to move more than 700 people out of high-density congregate emergency shelters and into hotel rooms. Since then, over 400 more individuals have also been served. This intervention was part of a regional effort to deintensify the shelter system, aiming to limit the transmission of the virus and protect vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness. Beyond the move to hotels, the County, the City of Seattle, and provider agencies took additional de-intensification measures, including opening new congregate shelters and providing more space to accommodate social distancing. In all locations, providers were supported in meeting Public Health guidance on social distancing, as well as infection prevention and control.