Towards Inclusive, Equitable Development: Launching the Intersections Initiative in South King County

“For public health researchers and practitioners, preventing displacement may be the single greatest challenge and the most important task in our collective efforts to create healthy communities for all.” –Healthy Development Without Displacement: Realizing the Vision of Healthy Communities for All (Prevention Institute)

Stable and affordable housing plays a critical role in the health of communities and individuals, allowing for continued connection to social support as well as proximity to jobs and education. All too often, low- and middle-income communities and communities of color must relocate to afford housing and other expenses, which means they bear the mental and physical burdens of rising rents and changing community landscapes. In addition to impacting families' geographic locations, displacement threatens community stability, especially for communities in South King County in Washington State.

Like many regions in the US, South King County has been impacted by gentrification and displacement, especially in recent years. In reaction to rising rents in Seattle, households are moving to cities in South King County to find more affordable housing and increased space. This trend increased during the COVID-19 pandemic: In 2020, 10 out of the 13 cities in South King County experienced an increase in people relocating from Seattle compared to previous years. As a result, South King County is also becoming an unaffordable place to live for longtime residents. Throughout our research and conversations with local partners, the impact of regional economic forces and the related displacement of residents and businesses in South King County became increasingly clear, especially among Black and brown communities and those who have been impacted by past and present disinvestment. At the same time, the rich cultural landscape and abundance of natural resources, alongside the long history of community power-building in the region, positions these communities to resist displacement and create opportunities for equitable development.?

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Growing the Intersections Initiative

The Intersections Initiative began in 2017, when Prevention Institute (PI) and the St. Joseph Fund (SJF) started working with seven California communities to explore what advancing upstream, health-equity–driven efforts could look like in their communities. They recognized the power of collaboratives to support or lead actions to advance health equity and improve community conditions through local policy.

This year, PI and SJF are partnering with seven community organizations based in South King County in a planning period during which we are developing a collective vision for health equity and racial justice. Regionally, Seattle has been the epicenter of government and philanthropic efforts dedicated to community wellbeing, and recently, anti-displacement. The opportunity through Intersections is to help grow that body of work in South King County. The Intersections approach centers organizational and collaborative capacity building as a pathway to advancing multiple related strategies toward a common goal.

As a part of this process, participating organizations are assessing root causes of displacement, discussing the challenges of working upstream, and uplifting community strengths and opportunities. These partners are: Africatown Community Land Trust; Family First Community Center; Federal Way Black Collective; Global to Local; Puget Sound Sage; Supporting Partnerships and Beyond; and Urban Family. They are well positioned to collaborate on equitable development at a broader, regional scale, building on the excellent work they are already doing in support of Black and brown communities.

“We have to disrupt to create change. History of policies that prevented Black people from buying, owning, and building—now it’s about expanding programs that reverse that and make it known.” - Intersections South King County community partner

Convening and Connecting in South King County

In early October at the beautiful Renton Community Center, PI and SJF were joined by our community partners to connect, learn, and envision an equitable and thriving South King County. This two-day convening was a key milestone in a multi-month planning period that marks the launch of the Intersections Initiative in the region.

Together, we explored South King County’s roots in resistance through an extended version of PI’s Timeline of Resistance, which highlighted social justice movements to illustrate the extensive local history of community organizing and power building. We discussed the impact of events like discrimination of Black workers at Boeing, Seattle School Boycotts of 1966, and Japanese American Internment on the region today, and partners complemented these events with personal stories of experiencing and fighting against inequitable systems in the area. Reflecting on the lessons learned from the regional events and movements, the group also explored the challenges and root causes of inequitable opportunity and displacement in South King County. We then had a generative discussion about the strengths of communities in the region, which highlighted spaces that have been created for healing and cultural pride, strong relationships between groups and organizations, an abundance of community knowledge and experience, and a collective practice of coming together to help each other. The whole group expressed deep solidarity with one another and were energized by the possibility of collective upstream action.

Moving Forward

“Policy is just fancy speak for basic solutions—playing by the rules. If we focus on building power, the policy will follow. The elected officials have folks to do the policy expertise, we do not need to be technical experts to make meaningful change.” - Intersections South King County community partner

The October convening built the foundation to a promising collaboration as we continue forward in our planning period. In the coming months, PI and the engaged community organizations will co-define what Intersections Initiative implementation will look like in 2025, exploring strategies that include built environment and land use opportunities, economic justice, and cultural belonging.

Stay connected to our work on Intersections in South King County! Please follow us here on LinkedIn, sign up for the Prevention Institute newsletter, or reach out to the Intersections team directly at [email protected].