It’s easy to understand why so many people feel overwhelmed right now. The problems are large, constant, and impossible to ignore. Every day brings another crisis, delivered to our phones with all the subtlety of a fire alarm. Faced with that kind of scale, it is easy to freeze and wonder what meaningful change any of us can actually make.
That is exactly why, in my State of the City speech this year, I argued that we need to get back to thinking at the human scale. Pick up trash on your walk. Bring food to the food bank. Plant trees in a park. Fill in at a cold-weather shelter. These actions may be small, but they matter. They build on one another. They create a visible culture of care. And when enough people take part, a city begins to develop something precious: civic pride.
That is where placemaking comes in.
Yes, placemaking sounds a little like planning jargon. But the idea is simple: reimagining the spaces we share in ways that help people connect. At a moment when so many of us feel isolated and cut off from one another, that is not fluff. It is one of the most practical things a city government can pursue.
And Lynnwood needs it. Unlike older towns built around a traditional square or main street, Lynnwood is a city of highways, dispersed neighborhoods, and spaces that too often move people through rather than invite them to stay. A lot of our public places work just fine if the goal is efficiency. They just do not always work very well if the goal is community.
The light rail station is a perfect example of what can be done. On an ordinary day, it is functional and forgettable. But during the 2024 Grand Opening Night Market, that same space became something more. Concrete, steel, and glass gave way to tents, food, and laughter. People did not just pass through. They stayed. They gathered. For a moment, the station became a place worth remembering. Maybe a future Farmers market will too.
That same principle can work at smaller scales. A park can be more than a place to exercise or take your kids. Add foodtrucks, seating, music, or ways to volunteer, and it becomes a place where people linger, meet, and build relationships. A neighborhood can do the same. An espresso cart in a converted garage may sound small, but that is exactly the point. Places like that give neighbors a reason to stop, talk, and know one another as people instead of as passing cars or profile pictures.
Even our streets can do more than carry traffic. Block parties like National Night Out and Loopalooza already prove that. When a street is repurposed for gathering, kids play, neighbors meet, and people remember they live near one another.
That is not fluff. That matters.
Yes, there are bigger problems in the world. There always are. Crime is real. Addiction is real. Affordability challenges are real. But that is precisely why local governments should care about the places and policies that help people connect and invest in where they live. A community that knows itself and cares for itself is more resilient in a crisis, more generous in hard times, and more willing to carry responsibility together.
Cities cannot manufacture that sense of care. But they can make it easier for it to take root.
Lynnwood has the opportunity to do more of that in the years ahead, and our Council has made placemaking a priority. Because a city worth loving does not happen by accident. It is made that way.
So bring us your ideas. Tell us where connection already happens, where it could happen more easily, and what is getting in the way. If we want a strong town, then we have to build it together.
When that spark hits, reach out at Council@LynnwoodWA.Gov.
Lynnwood City Council President Nick Coelho
Elected in 2023, Nick Coelho serves as President of the Lynnwood City Council for Position #4. An entrepreneur and longtime community advocate, he has owned and operated Lynnwood’s first Boardgame Cafe since 2013.
Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, he moved to the Pacific Northwest and settled in South Lynnwood with his wife, Layla.
Coelho previously served 5.5 years on the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board—chairing it during the COVID-19 pandemic—and volunteers with the Lynnwood Foodbank, Habitat for Humanity, and Friends of Scriber Lake.
COMMENTARY DISCLAIMER: The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lynnwood Times nor any of its affiliate
Author: Lynnwood Times Contributor
One Response
I agree – it is the connectedness that makes a community interesting and strong. I still smile at the signs of the neighborhood grant that brought neighbors together to plant lavender along 68th for honeybees. It wasn’t much money but it kind of identified that street for me, and I had friends that worked on making it happen – working together. I wasn’t as tuned into the other projects, but the city at the very least should work to not hinder this type of project. Same for Neighborhood Night Out – I look forward to our neighborhood picnics to talk get acquainted with old and new people on the block.