At the American Sociological Association’s 111th Annual Meeting, Seattle will be the subject of several regional spotlight sessions in which leading sociologists will present research on and discuss topics related to the city, including economic inequality, sustainability, immigration, marijuana legalization, and minimum wage policy.
The conference will take place from Saturday, Aug. 20, through Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016 (Opening Plenary Session is Friday, Aug. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m.) at Washington State Convention Center (800 Convention Place, Seattle, WA 98101) and the Sheraton Seattle Hotel (1400 6th Ave, Seattle, WA 98101).
For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/295Sdhr.
SEATTLE-FOCUSED SESSIONS:
- Homeless in Seattle: Responding to a State of Emergency
Saturday, Aug. 20, 10:30 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Homelessness is a growing problem in Seattle and King County, where the annual One Night Count for 2015 found 3,772 men, women, and children without access to shelter — a staggering 21 percent increase from 2014. The increasing presence of those who are homeless in the city led Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and the City Council to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. This panel will consider questions, including: How do those who are homeless advocate for better housing and resources, and how is Seattle responding in unique ways to the crisis?
- Immigration and Refugee Dynamics in the Northwest
Saturday, Aug. 20, 2:30 – 4:10 p.m.
Cities and counties are often the primary vehicle for local immigrant and refugee integration efforts. Today, Seattle is home to one of the most diverse zip codes in the country, 98118-Rainier Valley; 129 languages are spoken in the city’s school district; and almost one in five of its residents is foreign-born. Seattle, through its coordinated citywide efforts with civic and nongovernmental organizations and schools, is poised to become a leader in local immigrant and refugee integration. The session will address the history of immigrants and refugees in Seattle’s neighborhoods, current municipal efforts to integrate immigrants and refugees, and timely issues surrounding future Syrian refugee arrivals and the ongoing youth detentions at regional immigrant detention centers.
- Marijuana — Legalization and Commercialization
Sunday, Aug. 21, 10:30 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Panelists will discuss current research on illegal and legal marijuana markets with a focus on why there has been a move towards decriminalization, how states have been organizing, and what the outcomes have been. The session will also explore local markets, national markets, and the potential unintended consequences of legalization.
- Poverty and Wealth Inequality in the Pacific Northwest
Sunday, Aug. 21, 12:30 – 2:10 p.m.
This session will provide a profile of poverty and wealth inequalities in the region, and explore structural causes and local policy implications for housing, employment, and other issues.
- Sustainability and the Urban Environment: Making Green Cities
Monday, Aug. 22, 10:30 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
Panelists will explore the interplay of policy, architecture, and business/government/public partnerships for greening urban space.
- Sustainable, Just, and Inclusive: Seattle’s Urban Food Systems
Monday, Aug. 22, 2:30 – 4:10 p.m.
This session will examine how food production, processing, and distribution within Seattle and the surrounding region incorporate environmental sustainability, inclusivity, and justice by promoting urban farming and gardening, farmers markets and community gardens, and a variety of retail venues, including food cooperatives and community kitchens.
- The Changing City: Housing, Residential Mobility, and Neighborhood Stratification in Seattle
Tuesday, Aug. 23, 10:30 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.
With some of the fastest growing housing costs in the nation, Seattle’s recent trends in local economic and housing development raise vital questions about the structural transitions and social inequalities that come with a rapidly changing city. Panelists will consider such questions as: What social, economic, and political forces drive differential changes in affordability across the city’s neighborhoods? How do changes in affordability affect patterns of residential mobility? What is the impact of these patterns on access to jobs and other opportunities? To what extent do these changes impact members of various economic and ethno-racial groups within the city? And what do these rapid changes reveal about the future of social inequality in American metros?
- Wages and Labor in Seattle: $15 Per Hour Movement
Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2:30 – 4:10 p.m.
In November 2013, the small suburban city of SeaTac passed Proposition 1, authorizing a $15 minimum wage policy phased in over several years. After surviving a lawsuit filed by business groups, the policy went into effect in January, 2014. Six months later, the Seattle City Council passed a similar $15 minimum wage policy. The victories in the Puget Sound catalyzed a proliferating array of campaigns to raise the minimum wage in cities and states around the nation, as well as at the national level. Panelists will reflect on the lessons that can be learned from the struggles by a broad coalition of labor unions, community partners, and elected officials around a host of issues concerning low wage workers’ rights in the years following the Occupy movement, both in Seattle and beyond.
CONTACT: Daniel Fowler, ASA Media Relations Manager, [email protected], (202) 527-7885
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About the American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association, founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to serving sociologists in their work, advancing sociology as a science and profession, and promoting the contributions to and use of sociology by society.
