The 天美影视传媒’s Livable City Year (LCY) program has selected the City of Tacoma as the program’s community partner for the 2017-2018 academic year. This partnership establishes a yearlong relationship connecting students and faculty with city staff working on projects that advance goals outlined in its and strategic visioning framework.
鈥淎s聽Tacoma continues to evolve and attract more residents,聽we want to ensure that聽this growth is sustainable and our entire community benefits,鈥� said Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland. 鈥淲e聽are pleased to be聽selected as a聽天美影视传媒 Livable City Year partner听补苍诲听we聽look forward to a partnership that will聽achieve聽realistic, specific and measurable goals to address education, employment, equity and accountability.聽We are particularly excited about the opportunity to strengthen our ties聽with UW’s Tacoma campus.鈥�
The program will connect UW courses with projects identified by Tacoma related to the city鈥檚 livability and sustainability needs. The program works with faculty across all UW schools, colleges and campuses to match the projects to courses and students who can best address the real-world problems, while providing city staff with the resources of UW student and faculty research and project work.
鈥淭he 天美影视传媒 is incredibly proud to honor our public promise through partnerships like this one, which creates so many opportunities for our students, faculty and staff to work with the Tacoma community toward a tangible, positive impact,”聽said UW President Ana Mari Cauce.聽“We鈥檙e especially pleased to be doing Livable City Year in the home of our UW Tacoma campus, and can鈥檛 wait to see how these interdisciplinary and hands-on learning projects extend and build on the thriving partnership we鈥檝e had with Tacoma for more than two decades.鈥�
鈥淚n the upcoming year, city staff will work with the 天美影视传媒鈥檚 Livable City Year program to identify projects and programs that would benefit from 天美影视传媒 student and faculty assistance,鈥� said Tacoma2025 Program Manager Tanisha Jumper. 鈥淚t is an exciting partnership.鈥�
The 天美影视传媒鈥檚 Livable City Year program is led by faculty directors with the Department of Urban Design and Planning, and with the School of Public Health, in collaboration with 听补苍诲听, and with foundational support from聽the , the聽天美影视传媒鈥檚 and .
“Cities are a great laboratory for today鈥檚 students and tomorrow鈥檚 leaders to put their ideas and training into action.”
鈥� Peter B. King,聽Association of Washington Cities CEO
The UW鈥檚 Livable City Year program launched in the 2016-2017 academic year, with the City of Auburn serving as its inaugural partner. UW students and faculty worked with the City of Auburn on 18 projects during the initial Livable City Year partnership.
“We are excited to partner with Tacoma and build on the success of our inaugural Livable City Year,” Otten said. “Students and faculty have done very exciting work on livability projects in Auburn this year, and working with Tacoma will provide new opportunities for students to work on projects which will benefit residents in Tacoma and our region.”
Anne Taufen Wessells, a professor with UW Tacoma Urban Studies, will serve as faculty co-director and the primary UW Tacoma contact throughout the Livable City Year partnership with the City of Tacoma, helping identify opportunities for UW Tacoma students to connect with Livable City Year projects.
鈥淚t鈥檚 terrific that we have the opportunity in Tacoma to leverage our university-wide resources and relationships to forge this unique partnership in the South Sound,鈥� said Wessells.聽 鈥淯W Tacoma’s academic programs, including urban studies, have long defined themselves by their commitment to local communities, and we are thrilled to have the yearlong added support and investment of the Livable City Year program to target and amplify the work of the entire campus as an urban-serving institution.鈥�
One of several across the country based on the University of Oregon’s Sustainable City Year Program, the UW鈥檚 Livable City Year program is part of the Educational Partners for Innovation in Communities Network, which provides resources and connections for schools with similar programs. The UW and Western Washington University are the only two schools in Washington state currently offering a program under this model.
鈥淐ities are a great laboratory for today鈥檚 students and tomorrow鈥檚 leaders to put their ideas and training into action,鈥� said the聽Association of Washington Cities CEO Peter B. King. 鈥淭he unique projects and creative solutions that emerge from partnerships like this strengthen our cities and towns.鈥�
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For more information, contact Born at聽bborn@uw.edu聽or聽206-543-4975; Otten at jotten@uw.edu; and Maria Lee, communications specialist with the City of Tacoma at maria.lee@cityoftacoma.org or (253) 591-2054.
The Livable City Year program will hold a celebration event marking the successful completion of the initial partnership with the City of Auburn at 4 p.m. May 24 at the Auburn Community & Event Center, 910 Ninth St SE, Auburn.