Planning Cascadia Book Prospectus
APA Publication, Spring 2015
Planning Cascadia
A mosaic illustrating the plans, projects, people, and politics that made the Pacific
Northwest what it is today, with perspectives on the future.
Concept
While the rest of the nation decided long ago that the Pacific Northwest - with its vast
forests, never-ending rainfall, penchant for counting carbon, and culture of coffee,
grunge, salmon, vampires, and everything online - epitomized what it meant to be
“green,” the authors of this volume are quite sure that the nation has no idea of the
how green the Northwest really is – planning in the Northwest is green to the extreme.
This book cracks open the crusted notions of backwater, lumber-mill planning to reveal
the driving, fulminating, and sometimes hilarious ways in which people craft and care
for the urban spaces, small towns, and natural spaces of Washington and Oregon,
forming the Pacific Northwest. Intended for practitioners, planning academics, readers
of popular planning blogs, diehard fans of neighborhood bookstores, and students of
urban studies, the content and arrangement of this book are designed to capture both
the landmark planning programs of the past and the quirky pragmatism that keeps
planning fresh and alive in the Northwest.
It is true that in the Northwest, you can find our nation’s very own version of a
rainforest – on the Olympic Peninsula, immortalized in the “Twilight” series of films –
along with a great concentration of hydroelectric dams. You may also know that the
stable and low cost power these systems provide has made this a preferred location for
the data centers or “clouds” of Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. The urban technological
backbone of the Pacific Rim traverses Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC,1 - cities
embracing, each in their own way, the ideals of growth management, complete streets,
compact urban form, and boundaries on urban growth.
You may not know, however, that the Pacific Northwest is the home of the nation’s
largest effort to remove dams, thus restoring salmon habitat and sacred lands for native
tribes. Or perhaps you’ve recently heard commentators on NPR label us the
“environmental whistleblowers of the nation,” for squatting defiantly on the chokepoint
between America’s coal reserves and China’s markets. Most know that our urban
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We have elected to focus this proposal on Washington and Oregon in order to provide more depth
on the planning issues in these states. With our title of “and beyond,” we can include some articles
on Vancouver for comparison, but without the need for equal treatment of Vancouver throughout.
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settings are subject to downpour, but did you realize that local planning in the
Northwest is surprisingly obsessed with bicycle paths, road diets, mobile food, and
walkable urban form? Journey inland from the urbanized corridor and the coastal
precipitation and forests fade into dry inland valleys where competing demands for
endangered fish, agriculture, viticulture, and new development have experiments in
water markets in full swing.
While engaging and entertaining, the book is also designed as a serious effort to show
Northwest planning at the cutting edge. With the final section’s focus on the future, it is,
ultimately, a clarion call to planners throughout the nation to take a leadership role in
shaping public discourse and taking action to make our cities, towns and rural places
into the vibrant, fair, healthy, and exciting places needed to meet the challenges of the
21st century.
Further information on the audience, organization, editors, authors, budget, and
potential articles is provided below.
Audience
The intended audiences are APA members, planners, architects, landscape architects,
geographers, public officials and politicians. Readers of Crosscut, Planetizen, NPR,
Sightline, the Urbanophile, Huffington Post, CNT, and Grist, will enjoy the eclectic yet
organized interplay of ironic, pragmatic, practice-oriented, and academic contributions
in each of the book’s sections, giving the reader fascinating snapshots as well as
thoughtful expositions covering the central topics within urban planning and exploring
emerging issues. Professors teaching entry-level courses on cities, urban design,
architecture, urban planning, geography, built environments and sustainability should
find this work inviting and attractive.
In keeping with our extensive and sophisticated audience, we are also looking at the
book as more than printed text. Communication design will be integral to the process of
shaping the book – content as well as format are critical objectives for reaching
audiences in this new media era. Our intent is to integrate info-graphics, as well as
photos, sketches and illustrations. Also, we want to explore how publishing in an
electronic format (as APA will be doing) can supplement the printed text to create an
interactive experience with links to videos and other materials.
Organization
The existing publications in APA’s series, while named after cities, provide starting
blocks for a book on planning in the Pacific Northwest. The irony and surprise of
Planning Los Angeles, packed with vignettes as well as more lengthy pieces, inspired our
proposal. We find the combination of works that vary in length, but also vary in style of
writing, rhetorical purpose, and background of author compelling enough to suggest a
similar approach. However, with a scope as large as a region, our subject matter can
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grow beyond local or even metropolitan concerns, to grasp the significance of planning
for the natural resources and critical infrastructures on which our cities depend.
We would like to structure the text around three major sections with a series of articles
within each section. The general framework is:
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2.
3.
Planning Retrospective: Timber to Technology
a. Economy and Society
b. Land and its Uses – Regional Planning
c. Shaping Growth – Washington and Oregon approaches
d. Emergence of the Technology Sector
Planning Today: Green to the Extreme
a. Energy
b. Mobility – Roads and Transportation
c. Natural Environment
d. Urban Centers & Neighborhoods
Planning Prospective – What’s Next?
a. Planning in an Age of Uncertainty
b. Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation Planning
c. Food and Health
d. Social Equity Planning
In our selection of articles we want to capture the breadth of issues of interest to
planners. Our goals are to provide practicing planners with examples, ideas and
outcomes that that can inform practice in other regions of the country and to educate
and inform citizens so they may become more engaged.
Within each section we expect to have a diverse, but balanced set of contributions
including several peer reviewed articles as anchors. Readers should raise their eyebrows
and laugh at some vignettes and plan to sit back and read other articles at length. The
idea is to balance each section with quirky short bits, pragmatic and practice-oriented
pieces, and longer academic works; to blend fun and high interest with practical ideas
and thoughtful essays that carry readers through the history and theory of planning and
being “green” in the Northwest and on into planning’s role in an uncertain future.
Editorial Board
While we like the eclectic approach of the collection of articles in Planning Los Angeles,
we want this book to be more than a collection. Rather, it will be thoughtfully
constructed and cohesive with a clear message. To that end, we are forming an editorial
board to shape the content and to ensure a high level of quality through a unified
editorial process. The role of the editorial board will be:
 Shaping the fundamental objectives and tone, defining the narrative and graphic
approach, setting standards and criteria for authors, and establishing the
schedule;
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Soliciting abstracts & selecting among those for inclusion in the book;
Reviewing/editing authors’ submissions for content & writing style;
Conducting the peer review process for the faculty who choose this option;
Providing the introduction, conclusions and linking materials; and
Coordinating and integrating graphic materials.
The following people have agreed to serve on the editorial board on a pro bono basis,
with copies of the book in lieu of payment:
 Dr. Connie Ozawa (PSU professor)
 Dr. Dennis Ryan (UW professor emeritus)
 Dr. Ethan Seltzer (PSU professor)
 Jill Brown Sterrett, FAICP (UW affiliate lecturer)
 Dr. Jan Whittington (UW assistant professor)
A short bio-sketch for each member of the editorial board is included in the final section
of this proposal.
Authors
This edited volume unites some of the Pacific Northwest’s most highly regarded thought
leaders to assess how planning has shaped the region’s growth, defined green
approaches, and set the stage for the future. By bringing together a diversity of
perspectives and approaches, this book aspires to combine rigorous analysis with
accessible ideas and practical knowledge about how planning and development has
happened here and continues to evolve.
The following planning leaders have already committed to provide articles on a pro bono
basis, with copies of the book in lieu of payment.
Professional Practice
 Brian Campbell, FAICP on Portland Airport economic development & light rail
(APA OR Chapter president)
 A-P Hurd, on the economics of green (Touchstone development, author of The
Carbon-Efficient City)
 John Owen, on regional design and regional open spaces (MAKERS architecture
and urban design)
 Rocky Piro, FAICP on regional planning in WA (APA Regional Division leader)
 Jill Sterrett, FAICP, on climate change and sustainability (APA WA Chapter
President)
 Paddy Tillett, FAICP, FAIA, RIBA, FRTPI, LEED AP on urban design & walkable
neighborhoods in Portland (ZGF Architects, Inc)
 Joe Tovar, FAICP on Growth Management in WA (former Chapter President)
 Karen Wolf, on public health and social equity (Senior Policy Analyst for the
King County Executive)
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Academia:
 Dr. Sy Adler (PSU) on growth management in OR
 Dr. Connie Ozawa (PSU) on green in the city
 Dr. Dennis Ryan (UW) on urban design and regional planning in WA
 Dr. Ethan Seltzer (PSU) on regional planning in Oregon and the Pacific NW
 Dr. Jan Whittington (UW) on infrastructure, economics, and technology
Once we have a commitment from APA to publish, we will reach out to our contacts in
academia, planning practice, and the blogosphere, to solicit additional participation. Our
contacts include current and past presidents of WA and OR Chapters, FAICP members,
faculty at the University of Oregon, Portland State University, Washington State
University, the University of Washington, Simon Frasier University, and the University of
British Columbia. We would like the demographic profile of the contributors to reflect
the state of the profession’s current and desired future profile. To that end, we plan to
solicit articles from mid-career and emerging professionals, as well.
Budget
In order to meet APA’s cost-effective standards for publication, the authors and editors
listed above have agreed to contribute on a pro bono basis, with copies of the book in
lieu of payment. To assist with the cost of publishing, we have a commitment by the
APA WA Chapter to contribute $3,000.00 to this effort. Also, discussions are underway
with the APA OR Chapter for a similar contribution or an in-kind contribution of services.
We would like to reserve some funds for a PhD candidate to serve as our graphics and
info-graphics coordinator, the specific amount needed would depend on the extent to
which this is intended to be handled by APA’s editing staff. We could seek additional
sponsorships, if needed, from the major cities in the region, the regional planning
organizations, and/or corporate sponsors once we have a commitment from APA to
publish the book.
Topics
The list below provides specific ideas for articles suggested by our current authors, to fit
within the structure defined above. These will be revised, refined and supplemented by
further discussions among the editorial board, with planning leaders, and emerging
professionals throughout the region, as we complete the author selection process.
1.0 Introduction - Eclectic Cascadia: compares & contrasts the major cities, compares
& contrasts east and west of the mountains, sets the tone of the book & sets the
stage for other sections stage for other sections
2.0 Planning Retrospective – Timber to Technology
 First People -– Story of Native Americans, rising consciousness in the 1970s and
their roles in planning today
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
Follow the Money- Economic origins & shifts, growth patterns, change from
resource-based economy to airplanes and high tech
 Roots of Sustainability – The long history of sustainable development in the
Pacific Northwest
 Urban Centers – Comparison of Portland’s growth and planning and Seattle’s
growth and planning
 Bringing Sprawl to a Crawl -– Growth management in WA and OR, key players &
how it has evolved, how the UGA has led to revitalization of the Seattle
downtown and also suburban downtowns
 Big Picture -– Regional planning and urban ecology in WA and OR
 The Cloud is Here – Planning along the Pacific Northwest Internet backbone
2.0 Planning Today – Green to the Extreme
 Dam it all – Story of the Columbia Basin dam system, growth of hydroelectric,
removing the dam on the Elwha River
 Throwing Fish-A history and culture of Seattle’s iconic Pike Place fish market and
salmon as a cultural icon in the region and Pike Market planning today
 Twilight in Forks -– How one small town survives the onslaught of vampire
seekers
 Portlandia -– verify some of the truths, describe Portland people and culture,
youth culture, bike culture, how planning is responding
 Roadway Ups and Downs -– Seattle’s Viaduct history and tunnel planning,
complete streets, green streets
 Transit Ups and Downs -– Portland Metro & Seattle monorail & light rail
 A Vulcan in Real Estate -– The Paul Allen & Vulcan story – Experience Music
Project/So Lake Union
 Water Beyond the Pail -– Shoreline management, watershed planning, WIRA,
green infrastructure
3.0 Planning Prospective – What’s next?
 Getting Warmer -– How the NW is preparing for climate change effects– sea level
rise, flooding, food supplies, lack of summer water supplies
 New Faces -– Changing needs & evolving issues of the NW - growth, aging & inmigration
 French Fry Fuels: planning for EV refueling on the I-5 corridor, cooking oil fuel
 Fair is Fair -– Hope VI housing projects, public health and social equity programs
in the region
 The Owl and the Crow -– Indicator species of forest health and of urban health
 Wine and Clouds – Low cost energy, irrigating the dry side, transformation from
orchards to vineyards, creation of cloud farms
 Mobile food -– Growing food in vacant lots, medians and food towers, food
trucks and farms-to-schools.
 Catch the Wind -– wind, & tidal energy, community supported solar, Smart grid
studies at EWU
 The Next Green -– building a nexus between strong economy and green economy
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
Planning for Equity and Inclusion – planners and plans in the effort to achieve
greater social justice
 Learning Curve – what an education in planning will mean in the future
4.0 And Beyond
Summarizes key points in the book & lessons learned, describe Game Changing
Initiative & its outcomes, call to action by planners to get engaged
Notes:
1. Additionally, we would like to add a number of short (2 to 4 page) inserts
highlighting specific interesting, amusing, or quirky topics unique to the region.
2. The current selection of articles is weighted toward WA, but additional OR topics
will be added.
Other Publications
We have reviewed other books published in the last ten years on urban planning topics
for the two major cities and the region. Our proposed book is unique among the
planning literature we found in addressing the complex subject of the region as a whole
and – though comparing and contrasting the planning solutions – to define solutions
useful to planners throughout the country.
1. Portland
 Planning Paradise: Politics and Visioning of Land Use in Oregon (Society,
Environment, and Place) by Peter A. Walker and Patrick T. Hurley (May 15,
2011)
 City Making And Urban Governance In The Americas: Curitiba And Portland
(Design and the Built Environment) by Clara Irazabal (Jun 30, 2005)
 The Portland Edge: Challenges And Successes In Growing Communities by
Connie P. Ozawa, Jennifer Dill, Alan Yeakley and Mattew Witt (Oct 5, 2004)
2. Seattle
 Sustainable Development: Berlin + Seattle. Century 21 + Agenda 21:
Sustainable Development and Local Urban Communities...by Michael LaFond
(May 1, 2011)
 Greening Cities, Growing Communities (Land and Community Design Case
Studies) by Jeffrey Hou, Julie M. Johnson and Laura J. Lawson (Jul 15, 2009)
 Pugetopolis: A Mossback Takes on Growth Addicts, Weather Wimps, and the
Myth of Seattle Nice by Knute Berger (Dec 2, 2008)
 Emerald City: An Environmental History of Seattle (The Lamar Series in
Western History) by Matthew Klingle (Nov 27, 2007)
 Twenty-five years of sprawl in the Seattle region: growth management
responses and implications for conservation...by L. Robinson, J.P. Newell and
J.M. Marzluff (Feb 28, 2005)
 Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way by Jim Diers (Jan 1,
2004)
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
Securing the Spectacular City: The Politics of Revitalization and Homelessness
in Downtown Seattle by Timothy A. Gibson (Nov 5, 2003
3. Regional
 Greening Cities, Growing Communities (Land and Community Design Case
Studies) by Jeffrey Hou, Julie M. Johnson and Laura J. Lawson (Jul 15, 2009)
 Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach (Sep 1, 2004) (addresses Washington, Oregon,
and Northern California)
Background of the Editors
Dr. Connie Ozawa
Connie Ozawa is the Director and Professor of the School of Urban Studies and Planning
and Director of the PSU-China Innovations in Urbanization Program. She teaches courses
on environmental policy and management, planning theory and practice, and
negotiation and dispute resolution. Her current research projects include a 2-decade
examination of riparian resources and management approaches in the PortlandVancouver metropolitan region, and water resources planning in anticipation of climate
change, as part of a study of five US metropolitan areas. She is also co-founder of the
Urban Sustainability Accelerator (USA), a new project led by Robert Liberty and funded
by the Summit Foundation and PSU’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions. Dr. Ozawa is
author of Recasting Science: Consensus-Based Procedures in Public Policy Making
(Westview, 1991), editor of The Portland Edge: Challenges and Successes in Growing
Communities (Island Press, 2004), and author of several book chapters and journal
articles.
Dr. Dennis Ryan, AICP (UW professor emeritus)
Dennis Ryan continues to teach part-time and practices environmental design in the San
Juan Islands, half way between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. He was the founding
director of the UW’s Urban Design Program and of the Community, Environment and
Planning degree program and served as chair of the Urban Design and Planning
Department. A resident of Seattle from l975 – 2010, Dr. Ryan served on the city’s
planning commission and design commission and was a contributor to numerous urban
projects and planning efforts in the city and greater metropolitan region. A founding
editor, he reviewed and contributed to the ARCADE journal for many years. His research
included interdisciplinary education, planning and the future of the Cascadia Pacific
region and the potentials of the “turn to the urban” in the context of the university.
Dr. Ethan Seltzer (PSU professor)
Ethan Seltzer currently serves as a Professor in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban
Studies and Planning at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. From September,
2003, until September, 2009, he served as Director of the Toulan School. He was the
founding director of Portland State’s Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, serving
in that position for 11 years. Prior to joining Portland State University in 1992, he was
the Land Use Supervisor for Metro, the regional government in the Portland area, and
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served as an Assistant to Portland City Commissioner Mike Lindberg. He received his
doctorate in City and Regional Planning in 1983 from the University of Pennsylvania.
He has been a resident of the Portland metropolitan area since 1980. For more
information, please visit: http://www.pdx.edu/usp/profile/meet-professor-ethan-seltzer
Jill Brown Sterrett, FAICP (UW affiliate lecturer)
With extensive professional experience, Ms. Sterrett, offers a unique blend of crossdisciplinary skills with a focus on climate change and sustainability in urban planning for
cities. Ms. Sterrett is highly experienced in managing large scale urban planning projects,
including client coordination, the management of inter-disciplinary project teams, and
community relations. For 10 years, she directed the Seattle office of EDAW, Inc., an
international urban planning and landscape architecture firm. For the past six years, she
has taught graduate and undergraduate courses as an affiliate lecturer at the University of
Washington. Her professional dedication is evidenced by multiple leadership roles,
including past president of the UW Professionals Council and current president of APA WA
Chapter. Her writing and editing experience includes Sustainable Washington 2009:
Planning for Climate Change, a 100-page web-based document for planners addressing
climate change.
Dr. Jan Whittington (UW assistant professor)
In addition to her teaching and research, Jan Whittington serves as the Associate
Director of the Masters in Infrastructure Planning and Management program, and the
Associate Director for Infrastructure Systems in the University’s Center for Information
Assurance and Cybersecurity. Her research applies transaction cost economic theory to
networked infrastructures, such as transportation, water, and communications systems.
She teaches infrastructure planning and finance, public finance, infrastructure megaprojects, science for environmental policy, planning for water, and land use planning.
Her PhD (2008) is in City and Regional Planning from the University of California,
Berkeley, where her advisor was the recent Nobel laureate, Oliver Williamson. Prior to
her academic career, she spent 10 years with infrastructure giant Bechtel Corporation,
as a strategic planner and environmental scientist. Her environmental interests arise
from undergraduate degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University
of California, Santa Cruz (1987). Her master’s degree is in City and Regional Planning,
from California State University, San Luis Obispo (1993).
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