To break the the mayor’s veto of the Seattle City Council’s Sweetened Beverage Tax revenue plan, citywide council member Lorena González had to make an international phone call in the middle of the night to cast her decisive vote Monday afternoon Seattle time.

Turns out, González is abroad this week studying “sustainable, urban strategies” thanks to the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict.

The council member is part of a huge delegation, according to Capitol Hill Housing which started the EcoDistrict effort in 2013 with funding from The Bullitt Foundation to increase sustainability efforts in the neighborhood.

It’s Day 2 of the COUrban Masterclass! Today, we’re learning about how to radically change the public realm to prioritize people while still increasing mobility and promoting economic development. pic.twitter.com/jSkx9eXTzo — Councilmember M. Lorena González (@CMLGonzalez) August 13, 2019

Others on the trip include representatives from Seattle Central College, Sound Transit, the Seattle City Council, the King County Council, both Seattle and Washington State Departments of Transportation, 4Culture, Seattle University, Capitol Hill Housing, Kaiser Permanente, GSBA, the Capitol Hill Business Alliance, the Bullitt Foundation, Blanton Turner, Shields Oblets Johnson, and consultants from COurban Design Collective and Framework Cultural Placemaking, a CHH spokesperson said.

King County Council member Joe McDermott is also part of the trip.

The group is slated to visit “world-renowned public spaces and public life” in Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden. The group’s mission is to bring home “strategies to Capitol Hill.” “Known as the public realm, open public spaces such as streets, squares, parks, alleys, sidewalks, and other outdoor spaces are a key component to the health, vitality, and livability of individuals and communities,” organizers write.

The “MasterClass” session is also supported by the ScanDesign Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation is also supporting the trip. Capitol Hill Housing says it plans to share findings from the trip when the delegation returns.

Monday, the City Council also passed a resolution on a Green New Deal for Seattle. The final resolution can be found here.

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