Bellevue-UW partnership yields out-of-the-box solutions

Always looking for ways to deliver better services, City of Bellevue staff had the opportunity this year to solicit fresh perspectives and in-depth knowledge from University of Washington students and faculty.

For the university’s Livable City Year program, 285 students from multiple UW schools, colleges and campuses gave staff new planning and policy ideas for 30 projects. The City Council and residents got a chance to see all of the student findings at a celebration at City Hall on Monday, June 3.

“This has been an outstanding partnership for the City of Bellevue,” Mayor John Chelminiak said. “The knowledge, research and energy the University of Washington participants brought to bear on our civic challenges is invaluable. Their recommendations reflect solid research and out-of-the-box thinking.”

Projects focused on livability and sustainability, such as a small business incubator, food truck permitting and neighborhood planning. Other projects included:

• For trail-oriented development, a team from UW’s Community, Environment and Planning is recommending policies and code changes to could facilitate placemaking next to trails.
• UW Urban Design and Planning developed an urban design image gallery permit applicants could consult for examples that meet city code requirements and stress livability for pedestrians.
• UW Landscape Architecture offered impressive ideas for a redesign of the Wetland Sun Terraced Garden at the Bellevue Botanical Garden.
• A team from the UW Industrial and Systems Engineering program developed a model to make winter weather plow routes more efficient and cost-effective.

“The UW’s Livable City Year in Bellevue has been a wonderful example of the good that comes from innovative and motivated students collaborating with a community to address real-world challenges,” said UW President Ana Mari Cauce. “They’ve demonstrated how experiential and project-based learning helps students learn and honors our public service mission. We are grateful to the city of Bellevue for their engagement and partnership, and we can’t wait to see how these proposals bear fruit in the future.”

“This year’s partnership with Bellevue gave UW students an opportunity to work on projects addressing a broad spectrum of topics that will have real impact on the city’s residents. Bellevue was a great partner,” said LCY co-director Jennifer Otten, associate professor in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

The University of Washington Livable City Year program selected Bellevue to be its community partner for the 2018-2019 academic year, following partnerships with the cities of Auburn and Tacoma the previous two years.

At the June 3 event, posters summarized each project and results, with students and faculty on hand. Mayor John Chelminiak and Sally Clark, director of UW regional and community relations, both spoke.

Quotes

“This has been an outstanding partnership for the City of Bellevue. The knowledge, research and energy the University of Washington participants brought to bear on our civic challenges is invaluable. Their recommendations reflect solid research and out-of-the-box thinking.”
- Mayor John Chelminiak

“The UW’s Livable City Year in Bellevue has been a wonderful example of the good that comes from innovative and motivated students collaborating with a community to address real-world challenge They’ve demonstrated how experiential and project-based learning helps students learn and honors our public service mission. We are grateful to the city of Bellevue for their engagement and partnership, and we can’t wait to see how these proposals bear fruit in the future.”
- UW President Ana Mari Cauce

“The opportunity that this partnership provides for the City of Bellevue is unique. The students’ work, in collaboration with our staff, has created real solutions to real challenges. I’m excited to see the implementation process.”
- Deputy Mayor Lynne Robinson

“This year’s partnership with Bellevue gave UW students an opportunity to work on projects addressing a broad spectrum of topics that will have real impact on the city’s residents. Bellevue was a great partner.”
- LCY co-director Jennifer Otten, associate professor in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

“The commitment that these UW students showed toward their projects and the City of Bellevue was simply amazing. Each unique project addressed an aspect of Bellevue life, from preserving our tree canopy to improving snow removal efficiency from our residential streets. They’ve created starting point to improve and enhance the quality of life for Bellevue residents.”
- Councilmember Jared Nieuwenhuis