The Duwamish River Community Coalition (DRCC) celebrates 2025 Youth Corps graduates at their annual Environmental Justice Forum. Seattle’s Duwamish Valley Program is celebrating a big year of accomplishments engaging local kids and teens, building resilient infrastructure, and strengthening climate preparedness for South Park and Georgetown communities.
The Duwamish Valley Program, led by our team at Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE), is a close partnership made up of dozens of community organizations and City departments. This year, guided by the Duwamish Valley Action Plan, our collective efforts increased access to parks and community spaces, improved flood response, added transportation options, advanced affordable housing, and empowered community.
Expanding Parks and Community Spaces
This spring, we joined community members and Seattle Parks and Recreation to celebrate the grand opening of South Park Plaza. The plaza offers a large greenspace, play area, and events plaza for community festivals and markets.
In March, we helped Mini Mart City Park, a nonprofit community space in Georgetown, install solar panels and a backup battery to improve energy efficiency and provide electricity in the event of a power outage. The Duwamish Valley Program has invested more than $3 million into Duwamish Valley resilience hubs, which are trusted community facilities that support neighbors in everyday life and before, during, and after emergencies.
We also helped the Duwamish River Community Coalition (DRCC) acquire land in South Park for their future Youth Development and Climate Resilience Hub. The Duwamish Valley Program is also supporting renovations to the South Park Neighborhood Center over the next year to improve climate resilience.
A peek at what’s to come in 2026 — After six years of renovations, the new South Park Playfield and Community Center will open! The space will have a play zone, dog off-leash area, multi-sport court, and an all-season turf field with a walking trail thanks to our partners at the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Improving Flood Preparedness
South Park and Georgetown experience more flooding than other Seattle neighborhoods — estimates show that most of the city’s sea-level rise impacts will hit the Duwamish Valley as climate change worsens. The City of Seattle collaborates with community members who are most affected by sea-level rise when developing solutions and climate change preparedness strategies.
This year, the City made major moves to strengthen climate resilience in this region through Seattle Public Utilities’ (SPU) new Duwamish Valley Water Resilience Section. This team will increase the City’s ability to improve drain infrastructure and flood preparedness, including building a flood wall to protect the area from high tides.
And our very own David Goldberg is joining SPU as the new Duwamish Valley Water Resilience Planner! He will focus on climate resilience and water management infrastructure to protect the community from flooding caused by extreme precipitation, high tides, and rising sea levels. See a clip of David in action, teaching the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps about sea-level rise, on DRCC’s Instagram.
Providing Safer Transportation
This year marked the completion of the Georgetown to South Park Connection thanks to many years of community advocacy. On this trail, people can safely walk, bike, and roll between the South Park and Georgetown neighborhoods. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) planted 143 trees along the new path, which will help improve air quality and collect stormwater runoff in this flood-prone area as they grow.
SDOT also added more public safety improvements to the region, including speed cushions, pavement markers, and signs. Next year, we’ll work with neighbors to gather input and design improvements for a reimagined 14th Ave S. This project will improve walkability and increase connectivity between the Georgetown to South Park Connection and the Green River Trail.
Increasing Affordable Housing
We’re working with the Seattle’s Office of Housing and community organizations to construct more than 200 units of affordable housing in South Park over the next five years. The City has joined forces with the Duwamish Valley Affordable Housing Coalition, Villa Comunitaria, Habitat for Humanity, and Frolic Community Housing to help increase access to affordable housing through educating community members about homeownership options and supporting them through the application process.
Sales wrapped up this year for South Park’s Yarrow Cottages where the first 10 homes welcomed low-to-middle-income community members. The Yarrow Townhomes, also in South Park, are under construction and will be up for sale with affordable options in 2027.
Empowering Youth and Community
Our partners DRCC, Cultivate South Park, Georgetown Business Association, Vision 7, Georgetown Youth Council, Dirt Corps, Villa Comunitaria, Seattle Parks Foundation, and Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association engaged more than 300 local youth leaders this year. These organizations are creating pathways to green careers and greater economic opportunities through innovative environmental justice and youth leadership programs.
Get involved with our amazing partners! Join Cultivate South Park’s Shop Small Winter Market from December 13-14. Stop by the Georgetown Art Attack art walk on Saturday, December 13. After, check out the South Park Community Posadas Festival, with activities from December 13 through Saturday, December 20.
