A small-scale public-private partnership failure in Seattle

Written By H. Pike Oliver

Here is a small scale example of one of the challenges of public/private partnerships--the Uptown Parklet in Seattle, WA, USA.

The parklet was first envisioned in 2012 and, after fundraising, was installed in February 2015. In October 2015, the parklet was removed. The main reason for removal was the failure to establish and fund an adequate program for maintaining the parklet. See below for two articles that offer background and perspective on what took place.

Top - Parklet concept from 2012. Lower left - Parklet opening in Feburay 2015. Lower right - Parklet removed in October 2018.

Top - Parklet concept from 2012. Lower left - Parklet opening in Feburay 2015. Lower right - Parklet removed in October 2018.

H. Pike Oliver

H. Pike Oliver focuses on master-planned communities. He is co-author of Transforming the Irvine Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and THE BIG PLAN, published by Routledge in 2022.

Early in his career, Pike worked for public agencies, including the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research, where he was a principal contributor to An Urban Strategy for California. For the next three decades, he was involved in master-planned development on the Irvine Ranch in Southern California, as well as other properties in western North America and abroad.

Beginning in 2009, Pike taught real estate development at Cornell University and directed the undergraduate program in Urban and Regional Studies. He relocated to Seattle in 2013 and, from 2016 to 2020, served as a lecturer in the Runstad Department of Real Estate at the University of Washington, where he also served as its chair.

Pike graduated from San Francisco State University's urban studies and planning program and received a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA. He is a member of the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute and a founder and emeritus member of the California Planning Roundtable.

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