ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a profile of the city of Seattle. It analyses the main problems in the Seattle region as well as the policies of companies and governments to deal with the problems, and the partnerships that have been developed as a result of the policies. In the eyes of the protesters Seattle was beset with grave social problems, such as crime, drugs, violence, poverty, racism and unemployment. Businesses in Seattle are not prepared to make a substantial contribution to the solution of general problems of housing and accessibility. The chapter reviews the most important opportunities and problems, the response to them of enterprise, and attempts to create cross-sector partnerships. It also discusses the community involvement activities of Boeing and Starbucks. Boeing sets much store by good corporate citizenship, as is evident for instance from the company's mission statement. Boeing's philanthropic policy addresses four themes: education; health and human services; art and culture; and environment and community.
