List of neighborhoods in Seattle
[1][2][3] Early European settlers established widely scattered settlements on the surrounding hills, which grew into neighborhoods and autonomous towns.
Conurbations tended to grow from such towns or from unincorporated areas around trolley stops during the 19th and early 20th centuries; the city has consequently suffered from transportation and street-naming problems.
[4] Seattle was established during an economic boom fueled by the timber industry; its early years were characterized by hasty expansion and development, under which residential areas were loosely defined by widely scattered plats.
[citation needed] At the beginning of the 20th century, Seattle's community clubs became influential in the organization of public improvements.
[9] Seattle elected its city council at large from 1910 to 2014, and community clubs lobby councilors for the interests of local residents – such as for a library branch.
Madrona Beach and Cowen and Ravenna Parks were privately established to encourage residential development upon otherwise unusable land.
[18] Ballard – Sunset Hill, Beacon Hill, Broadmoor, Green Lake, Laurelhurst, Magnolia, Queen Anne, South Lake City, and other Seattle neighborhoods and blocks had racially or ethnically restrictive housing covenants, such as the following sample: No person or persons of [any of several minorities] blood, lineage, or extraction shall be permitted to occupy a portion of said property ... except a domestic servant or servants who may actually and in good faith be employed by white occupants.
[19]Further restrictions on conveyance (rental, lease, sale, transfer) were often included, effectively defining most of the neighborhoods in Seattle during the first decades after establishment.
[33] Another example of boundary ambiguity is "Frelard," which local residents call the area shared by Fremont and Ballard between 3rd and 8th Avenues NW.
[citation needed] The Department of Neighborhoods designates a number of Historic Districts, which have a similar status to Seattle Landmarks.
The following table is largely based on maps from the Seattle City Clerk's Neighborhood Atlas, but also includes designations from other sources.
The appeal of the inexpensive and accessible electric power and water system services of the public utilities were the primary motivations for the annexation movements.
West Seattle incorporated in 1902, then annexed Spring Hill, Riverside, Alki Point, and Youngstown districts.
Southeast Seattle merged the towns of Hillman City and York with other Rainier Valley neighborhoods, then incorporated for the only reason of being annexed.
Because of the cost of providing city services, low-density residential neighborhoods represent a net revenue loss for municipalities.
[citation needed] In April 2004, the City Council voted to defer a decision on Mayor Nickels' proposal to designate the West Hill and North Highline neighborhoods, part of unincorporated King County, as potential annexation areas (PAAs) for at least a year.
North Highline, which adjoins SeaTac, Burien, and Tukwila in addition to Seattle, consists of the Boulevard Park neighborhood and part of White Center.
On December 11, 2006, the Seattle City Council agreed to designate North Highline a "potential annexation area".
