Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly reports on a phenomenon in Seattle familiar to Vancouverites, for some of the same reasons:
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Seattle-area residents are “joiners” who volunteer and love causes, but don’t spend nearly enough time interacting with those who live around them, according to a sweeping “Greater Seattle Civic Health Index” set for unveiling Thursday. The index, a survey compiled for Seattle CityClub and the National Conference on Citizenship, is flattering to a magnet region that is growing twice as fast as the nation as a whole. …
The greater Seattle area has grown by 415,000 people since 2000 and, says the report, “Our minority population accounts for 92 percent of that growth, increasing nearly 50 percent since 2000.” …
Diane Douglas, executive director of CityClub, said after reading the report: “Seattleites are some of the most civically and politically engaged citizens in the country when given an issue to rally around.
“Yet, this report shows we still have work to do. As a metropolitan region, we struggle to master the informal but powerful personal connections that grease the gears of compromise and action in our community.”
And, given the pace of immigration, Douglas noted that empowering the newcomers is a major civic challenge. …
The Civil Health Index indicates … that Seattle-area residents may not be consulting those immediately around them . . . and may be talking past each other.
We rank 48th among the 51 peer areas in the category of “talking to neighbors” and 37th in the category of “giving or receiving favors.”
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