Food & Drink
Seattle’s Future World: Our Crystal Ball Predictions, Part 2
Trying to predict the future is humbling—but even when we know we’ll probably be wildly wrong, it’s fodder for good conversation
By Seattle Magazine Staff and Guests November 18, 2016
This article originally appeared in the November 2016 issue of Seattle magazine.
Click here for Seattle’s Future World: Our Crystal Ball Predictions, Part 1
Policing the City Acknowledging the potential game-changing repercussions of even a single unanticipated variable (say a cataclysmic act of terrorism, or “The Big One” in the Cascadia subduction zone), I hazard this guess of what the Seattle Police Department will look like in 25 years or so:
“Community policing” has been fundamentally redefined, with neighborhood activists enjoying full partner status in virtually all police operations.
Representative volunteers, chosen by their fellow citizens, are at the table as teams of cops and citizens engage in policymaking, priority setting, program development, training and crisis management. Protests and other critical incidents are co-planned and co-policed.
Citizens also play a key role in officially evaluating individual performance, from the neighborhood beat cop to the chief of police.
Only in exigent, dangerous circumstances does the citizenry take a backseat to its police partners.
The police union initially fought genuine public participation, but the citizens of Seattle demanded it. And got it. Today, the presence of “civilians” at headquarters and in the precincts is both ordinary and meaningful. And mutual trust and respect have never been greater. NORM STAMPER, former Seattle police chief and author of To Protect and Serve: How to Fix America’s Police.
The Top 10 Ways Dining Will Change
• Due to federally mandated portion-control laws and concern about obesity, Seattle chefs serve entrées on 6-inch tea saucers.
• Driverless UberEats cars double as mobile cold-pressed-juice bars.
• Anyone who uses the term “foodie” in a Seattle restaurant is fined.
• “Local” produce finally refers to the really local stuff: the fruits, vegetables and chicken eggs people harvest from their own backyard.
• As a result of widespread gluten allergies and sensitivities, marijuana flour becomes the preferred baking ingredient of pastry chefs.
• Tom Douglas owns 92 restaurants. Josh Henderson owns 110.
• Despite a huge wave of new fine dining restaurants, Canlis is still considered the city’s most elegant restaurant.
• Because of the kale shortage, Swiss chard is the new power green everyone eats but complains about.
• Sleeper hip neighborhood Mountlake Terrace has the hottest up-and-coming restaurant scene.
• Tipping is considered retro. JESSICA YADEGARAN
Wheel World In 20–30 years, finding a good bike route will be like finding good coffee in Seattle—it will be simple, accessible and ubiquitous. The Seattle Bicycle Master Plan (whose stated goal is to make riding a bicycle a comfortable and integral part of daily life in Seattle for people of all ages and abilities) will be complete, linking Seattle’s downtown network of protected bike lanes with trails, neighborhood greenways and roads across the region. As getting around the city becomes safer and more convenient, cycling will increase, with a more diverse crowd opting for this healthy, less expensive form of transportation and enjoying the freedom to explore our communities. And beyond Seattle city limits, Washington state will become an international destination for bicycle tourism. ELIZABETH KIKER, executive director of the Cascade Bike Club
Carpeting Our Landscape with Weed Today, washington is on the leading edge of the legalization of cannabis. Recreational cannabis stores in Washington state have sold more than $1 billion’s worth of marijuana since July 2014, generating more than $250 million in tax revenue. Yet citizens are still not allowed to grow their own, open cannabis cafés or even pass a joint from one person to another—which is a federal felony (distribution of a banned substance). Clearly, we’ve got a long way to go.
Still, within a few decades, the stigma of Reefer Madness will have faded with national legalization, and cannabis will be incorporated into our lives, just as wine and martinis are now: as a regulated, adult-only cash crop, bringing in billions in massive taxes and enjoyed at concerts (stoned symphony nights!), restaurants (cannabis-infused cuisine), even guided events (elevated outdoor hikes and heightened awareness workshops). Doctors throughout the country will once again prescribe the plant to help a plethora of health problems, as they did in the early 1900s, eliminating costly and often dangerous pharmaceuticals (medical marijuana is currently only legal in 25 states). Finally, cannabis farmers will have fine-tuned small-batch organic strains to induce creativity, relaxation, euphoria or, perhaps, even the giggles. MICHAEL STUSSER, Seattle freelance writer and host at Higher Ground, highergroundtv.com
The 5 W’s of the New News
Who: After years of existential struggle, lots of smallish media organizations (e.g., iterations of Nextdoor and neighborhood blogs) will have become essential to the Seattle communities they serve. You’ll identify with several of these communities—composed of people who live how you live, like what you like or want what you want—and you’ll know them as hubs that include you, not just outlets that inform you.
What: By 2035, almost everything you do will become somebody’s data, and AI (artificial intelligence—those algorithms that already customize content) will churn out a version of a story just for you. Want knowledge that isn’t so nosy? You’ll probably need to pay more for it.*
When and Where: Smart objects, such as driverless cars, all around you will tell you everything you need to know. But after key research findings on the perils of distraction and the benefits of in-person interaction, you’ll finally know when to turn them off and shut them up.
Why: With information that’s so personalized and segregated, distinguishing what enlightens us from what only affirms our attitudes will be tough. Luckily, a new set of tools—and a new kind of journalism—will have evolved to lead us to information that our algorithms would have never found. MÓNICA GUZMÁN, cofounder of the daily Seattle newsletter The Evergrey. She is a 2016 Nieman Fellow at Harvard and a former columnist for the Seattle Times and GeekWire. *Inspired by media industry futurist Amy Webb.
Ripped from the Headlines: November 1, 2036
“Seattle to Ban Nonautonomous Vehicles from Driving on Weekdays”
In an exclusive interview today with Crosscut, Seattle’s mayor announced that she had enough council votes to ban operation of nonautonomous vehicles on city streets and freeways on weekdays. The ban will apply to all autos and trucks. She cited the benefits of driverless vehicles, including reduction of traffic accidents and deaths by 90 percent, less street congestion, lower levels of air pollution and cost savings to consumers, and noted similar bans in Shanghai and London. Vouchers covering 90 percent of the cost of using driverless UberLyft or Car2go will be issued to residents below the poverty level of $75,000/year. TOM ALBERG, cofounder of Madrona Venture Group
Retail Therapy May Change, But It’s Not Going Away
Storefronts may seem to be shrinking as online purchases grow, but our brick-and-mortar stores won’t be going anywhere in the foreseeable future, says Deborah Ross, retail program manager for the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA). Retailers will need to become more creative to spar with e-commerce giants, even as some (we’re looking at you, Amazon, Warby Parker and Birchbox) begin to move into brick-and-mortar territory. Expect more focus on customer experiences that are not attainable online (e.g., in-store cafés, human interactions such as yoga classes or Pinterest-worthy DIY workshops) and a mix of merchandise that’s more localized (think Watson Kennedy’s colorful curios). Ross notes that the opportunities to expand the boundaries of Seattle’s retail core abound as more building projects with ground-level retail crop up, and as improvements to the Pike-Pine Corridor—which are part of the DSA’s strategic Pike-Pine Renaissance program and include more trees lining streets, expanded sidewalks, additional seating and plantings—continue to take shape. Expect to seamlessly spend your hard-earned cash all the way from the waterfront to Capitol Hill. LAUREN MANG