City of Seattle OPCD

The Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) is an office of the City of Seattle that supports thriving communities through an integrated and equitable approach to planning and community investment. OPCD works across City departments to assess community needs, prioritize resources, and develop a vision for how Seattle grows to ensure that we are coordinating and implementing our plans with a cohesive vision.

We are working toward a city that is inclusive, affordable, vibrant, interconnected and innovative. We partner with neighborhoods, businesses, agencies and others to bring about positive change and coordinate investments for Seattle communities.

• Citywide Initiatives: Leading the development of strategies, policies and actions on issues of citywide importance through tools such as Seattle's Comprehensive Plan and the city's land use code. We also represent the City in regional planning initiatives and works with partners to conduct research and analysis on current issues and trends and forecast potential future challenges and opportunities.
• Community Planning: Working at the neighborhood, district or community scale to develop localized strategies for addressing community-defined priorities and issues of citywide concern. These efforts often take the form of community plans and may result in area-specific rezones and other types of implementing actions. This area of work also includes the City's Equitable Development Initiative, partnering with other city departments and community groups to invest in community-led efforts aimed at addressing issues of racial equity, social justice and cultural displacement.
• Placemaking: Working with partners at the site or district scale to translate citywide and community priorities into great places. This work can take the form of neighborhood-scale urban design frameworks and/or design guidelines, or the study and/or implementation of specific transformative projects or initiatives. These projects often involve the coordination of City capital investments across multiple departments, sometimes in coordination or collaboration with other governmental agencies, nonprofits and/or private developers, to facilitate the creation of high quality, sustainable, livable places that are equitable, inclusive and well-loved.