But the recent immigrant waves have brought entrepreneurial juice — new restaurants and shops, upgraded real estate and new urban flavor. Plus, has a strong group of community organizations and is regionally connected with a stop on the new Sound Transit light-rail line that runs from the Sea-Tac Airport to downtown.
The secret to strong neighborhoods, Weissbourd argues, is positive mobility — understanding that neighborhoods are in constant motion, turning over with people and businesses coming and going. The closure of the U. Thousands of Southeast Asians came in the aftermath of the Vietnam War in the s, joined by Latinos and, more recently, refugees from war and famine in East Africa. The result is what local boosters call a "neighborhood of nations," where Somali children study the Koran a few blocks from the largest Orthodox synagogue in Seattle; fourth-generation Italians and newly arrived South Asians shop at stores owned by second-generation Vietnamese; and Ethiopian wat and Filipino halo-halo are as easy to find as pizza and sushi.
About 45, people live within its boundaries, in neighborhoods that range from upscale Lakewood, Seward Park to grittier Hillman City, Rainier Beach. The idea that this is the most racially and ethnically diverse of all the 43, or so ZIP Codes in the country first surfaced about a decade ago.
Several later added the qualifier "one of the most," after finding out that the Census Bureau had made no judgment about the comparative diversity of ZIP Codes. The Census Bureau collects raw data; it does not interpret it. Furthermore, the geographical boundaries that it uses to collect data do not align neatly with those used by the Postal Service to deliver mail. ZIP Codes can cross state, county, census tract, and census block boundaries.
They also change frequently, through mergers, splits, and other adjustments. The total number can fluctuate by several thousand every year. Census Bureau geography," the bureau points out on its website. The closest approximation is what the bureau calls ZIP Code Tabulation Areas ZCTAs , which are based on the most frequently occurring five-digit codes in a given area; but these are "generalized representations" and only roughly correspond to actual ZIP Codes.
Among those who have accepted it as fact is Washington Senator Maria Cantwell b. The census showed that Seattle as a whole is nearly 70 percent white. In contrast, no race or ethnicity can claim a majority in Southeast Seattle. The largest single group in the ZCTA is Asian 32 percent , followed by non-Hispanic whites 28 percent , and non-Hispanic blacks 25 percent. The numbers vary slightly but the overall picture is the same in a database used by the city of Seattle: 37 percent Asian, 26 percent white, and 24 percent black in five "Community Reporting Areas" for Southeast Seattle consisting of 12 census tracts and covering a somewhat larger area than the ZCTA.
Both databases show that about 8 percent of the population is Hispanic and about 6 percent is multi-racial. There were 57 possible combinations of two or more racial groups. Respondents also were able to write in their own definition of their race, and one in 14 did so, using such terms as "Arab," "Haitian," and "Mexican.
Canzoneri analyzed ZCTAs in Washington state and nationwide, for HistoryLink, by using the Gini-Simpson Index also known as the Diversity Index , a mathematical formula which calculates the likelihood that any two people chosen at random in a given geographical area will be of different races or ethnicities.
The area now within the boundaries of was originally divided between the Duwamish, who had a settlement at the foot of Beacon Hill; and the Xachua'bsh "Lake People" , who maintained several long houses along the southern end of Lake Washington then called Duwamish Lake.
A few white settlers moved in during the s, but there was very little other development until , when J. Edmiston began building an electric railway from downtown Seattle into the Rainier Valley. The federal census of shows that nearly all the people then living in the "Columbia Precinct" were Caucasian. About 20 percent had been born in Washington state or Washington territory; 60 percent had been born elsewhere in the United States; the rest were foreign-born, predominately from Canada, England, Ireland, and Italy.
Part of the Rainier Valley became known as Garlic Gulch because of the large number of Italians who settled there. Some were "pick and shovel men" -- unskilled laborers -- hired to clear forests and build roads, railroads, and other infrastructure. Others were farmers.
Land was cheap, and they found ready markets for their produce in the rapidly growing city of Seattle. Several of these farmers were instrumental in establishing the Pike Place Market in Seattle in The largest cluster was along Rainier Avenue between Atlantic and McClellan streets but other enclaves developed farther south, especially on Beacon Hill and around Columbia City.
The community was served by two Italian language newspapers, Il Tempo , founded in , and Grazzetta Italiana , Il Tempo folded in , but the Grazzetta continued to publish until Neighbors made wine together and played bocce an ancient Italian bowling game in backyard courts.
The community lost some of its cohesiveness during World War II. While such diversity offers wonderful opportunities for schools, it also brings predictable challenges. Having seen our kids through public schools in the area, my hunch is that here, in particular, schools need strong, capable principals who stay a long time and build the culture of a school. Some schools have had that, but not many, especially as the school cistrict has in recent years moved principals frequently. One that did benefit from principal competence and continuity was Hawthorne Elementary with the leadership of John Moorefield.
But since Moorefield retired in the late s, Hawthorne has cycled principals rapidly and now labors under the unfortunate designation of a "failing school. While life in is not without challenges and many of us residents still have far to go in adding community to proximity with our diverse neighbors, there is something wonderful and almost biblical as in Jesus' words, "The last shall be first" in this southeast Seattle zip code being talked about not only as a leader in diversity, but "dynamic" as well.
Long avoided by many, described as "a not-good neighborhood" by others, can lift its head and take pride in its new, if unanticipated, prominence and promise.
Ideological differences make more of a difference than financial resources in keeping U. Share Facebook Twitter Email Print. Walk through Seward Park and hear a dozen different languages. Thanks to affordability, entrepreneurs, and more, is both vital and diverse.
Anthony B. Do they have million dollar houses on the same block as Section 8 apartments? The Census never actually said it was the most diverse zip code! I submit that many people of many racial mixtures shows a special kind of diversity…. But, heuristically, one can observe a richness of diversity as well as unity in diversity that is not matched in most places. There are identifiable communities of tribal, clan, religious, racial, economic, level of educational attainment, and finally the tremendous almagamation of the mixing of these cultures.
I completely bought the urban myth and touted the claim as fact. Nice work sleuthing it to a more plausible context. Please keep it civil and constructive. Our editors reserve the right to monitor inappropriate comments and personal attacks. Subscribe to our newsletter to get more research, analysis, and other policy updates delivered to your inbox.
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