How Green is Your Alley?

Last week I met Todd Vogel, owner of Livable Walkable LLC, a Pioneer Square architecture and urban planning firm, and a member of the International Sustainability Institute.  He is working with loads of other urban planning professionals and the City of Seattle, to develop a comprehensive plan for Downtown that would 'activate' in his words, dozens of the alleys of downtown Seattle, starting with those of Pioneer Square (and the first, just around the corner from my Gallery), by adding art, retail businesses & cafés, and pedestrian amenities to these untapped spaces, hopefully making them the latest addition to the City's list of urban green spaces.  Vogel and his team have the City behind them and grant money to boot, so hopefully this will fly.  This won't be the magic pill to pull Pioneer Square back from the brink.  But it might help.  To this end, they are launching a design competition for artists.  You can sign on to get more information at green_alleys@yahoogroups.com.  Stay tuned.