The first thing I noticed is how pervasive and diverse coffee houses are! They are not separated into plazas that people need to drive to, but distributed in residential districts, and in the walking distance. They are the neighbors of where we live. It is the place to distribute community information and exhibit works of local artists. Except for starbucks (which originated in Seattle), most of them are not part of massive chain stores. The coffee houses play an important role, as "third places", to strengthen the sense of community, facilitate social interactions as well as artistic and intellectural growth.
The second project is Seattle has marvelous views. Besides the standing out space needle that we can see from everywhere (with rainer mt. next to it),
but also the rivers, the sunset, and the rainer mt. from tophills.
Seattle is also a city where eco-friendly practices are well developed and deeply rooted in everyday practices. From the widely use and the convenience of public transportations, to the high awareness of recycling.
It is also a city enjoys high coverage of free wife, not just coffee houses, but also bus stopsThere are still many things waiting for me to explore, but so far, I found after I came to Seattle I understand better about Don such as he takes coffee so seriously (with his own espresso machine at his office), is very aware of recycling, takes bus everyday, etc. There are no better cities than Seattle and Portland to do ubiquitous computing, and to explore technologies for heath, eco-friendliness and fitness!
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