In the late 1940s, Seattle’s City Planning Commission began work on a comprehensive plan for the city in order to plan its future development and growth. The results, in the form of a map, were presented to the mayor in October 1956 and accepted in principle by the City Council in April 1957. The plan had three major parts: land use, arterial routes and community/neighborhood development. Zoning laws were to be based on the plan.

This September 1956 comprehensive plan map shows projected low and high density residential areas; business, commercial, and industrial areas; parks and other public areas; planned arterials and freeways; and other aspects of Seattle’s projected future development.

Caption information source: The Seattle Daily Times: October 31 1956, p. 14 ; and April 30, 1957, p. 11.
Caption information source: The Seattle Sunday Times: August 25, 1957, pp. 104-105 (consulted online). Originally The Seattle Sunday Times Magazine, pp. 13 and 14.