The Central Puget Sound Regional Sustainability Indicator Commons

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When Sustainable Seattle produced its 'Indicators of Sustainable Community' in the 1990s, the work was ground-breaking because of its participatory nature and the fact that linkages allowed the reader to understand the connection between ecology, economy and community. In the days that followed the 1992 Rio Conference, sustainability was a relatively new concept. Information to empower the public was not easily accessible and rarely presented in a holistic manner. Today, information is plentiful and the challenge has become to present this information in a way that is accessible, meaningful and actionable. To meet this challenge, Sustainable Seattle is building on the efforts of citizen groups and government agencies to create a new generation of community sustainability indicators, bringing these efforts together into a single networked system. We call this information system the Regional Sustainability Information Commons.

Steering Committee

Civic Forums

Technical Advisory Panel

Project Funding

Sustainable Seattle and Indicators

Click here to download a concept paper on the Regional Sustainability Information Commons.

View the 1998 Indicators of Sustainable Community Report (PDF)

Steering Committee

In December 2004, Sustainable Seattle convened a group of 24 Steering Committee Members representing the diverse interests and areas within King County. The Steering Committee oversees the process of developing a set of indicators to support the development of strategies for action to move the region toward a more sustainable future. To date, the group has met seven times to provide the guidance and the framework of the project. They developed the Mission and Goals for the project, as well as the Criteria and Principles for the indicators.

The Indicator Commons is organized under 24 sustainability goals based on the work of the Civic Forums and the Technical Advisor Panel.

Civic Forums

On April 30, 2005, a group of about 100 civic leaders met at Towne Hall in Seattle to discuss assets and concerns for the region. The daylong Saturday meeting allowed plenty of time of the participants to get into conversations about what the needs and priorities for the region. A preliminary list of indicators was prioritized.

Civic Leader Forum on April 30:

<--Civic Leaders select Assets & Concerns

Prioritizing of indicators -->

Upon reviewing attendance at the April 30 forum, several mini-panels were added to make sure that the project reflects the wide diversity of views and priorities of the region. A mini-panel was held in Auburn at the home of Steering Committee member Trish Borden on July 21, 2005. About 20 South King County residents and business owners attended.

Auburn Mini-Panel on July 21: Small group discussions to review Assets & Concerns and indicator set selected by Civic Leaders and evaluate them from a South King County perspective. The Auburn Civic Leader added 2 indicators to the list.

Three more panels were planned:

A People of Color Summit was co-sponsored by Steering Committee member Yalonda Cinde on September 24
A Business mini-panel was organized downtown Seattle by Steering Committee member Callie Ridolfi on October 26.
Callie Ridolfi and students from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute are organizing a lunch panel at Yesler Terrace on November 15.

Technical Advisor Panel

In January 2006, a Technical Advisor Panel, made up of 8 members representing different knowledge areas within the indicator field, was convened and met several times with the aim to develop an indicators framework that integrates the input collected through the citizens’ panels and that informs a systemic approach to the region’s sustainable development. They completed their work in June 2006.

Project Funding

Sustainable Seattle is grateful for funding from The Seattle Foundation to support indicator relationship mapping and to the Russell Family Foundation for a challenge grant in support of the project.