Everett nonprofit hopes to activate underused space with new map

Published 1:30 am Saturday, February 28, 2026

EVERETT — An Everett nonprofit has launched an online map that allows residents to track underused or vacant properties, as well as nominate spaces to install public art.

The map, called The Slow Shrink, can be used to collect observations from community members identifying long-term vacant properties, underused areas, places that need trash cleanup and spaces where murals could potentially be painted.

It was created by Evan Reed, the head of the local nonprofit Bunker Arts Collective, which organizes a network of volunteers that conduct regular trash cleaning events across the city. Reed founded the nonprofit in 2023 along with two of his friends and grew it through social media.

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Reed created the map as a way to visualize areas in the city that need cleaning and sees it as a way to bring new life to underutilized spaces.

“I’m hoping that we can influence, even temporarily, to turn what is currently vacant lots into temporary art installations, food truck installations, farmer’s markets, things that are going to directly impact the community and don’t require a massive upstart,” Reed said. “I just want us to get more creative.”

The Slow Shrink functions similarly to a city-created application known as Everett At Work, which allows residents to report trash, graffiti, potholes or other issues the city can address. When someone reports an issue, the app uses GPS to mark the location of the report so city staff can quickly respond.

Everett At Work is most commonly used to report issues such as potholes, graffiti, sidewalk issues, parking concerns or issues with code compliance, Everett spokesperson Simone Tarver wrote in an email. In 2025, the city received almost 7,000 reports, she wrote, and has received over 1,000 so far in 2026. On average, it takes the city about 8 hours to acknowledge a request and about 3 days to respond, Tarver wrote.

The city is aware of The Slow Shrink map, she said, and said the new map can compliment the city’s application by encouraging community engagement, creative placemaking and stewardship of public spaces.

“We’ve had a positive relationship with the Bunker Arts Collective; they have partnered with the City on things like the post–Fourth of July cleanup efforts, and they are currently under contract with us for a future youth-led mural project in south Everett,” Tarver wrote. “We’re grateful for the volunteer cleanups and the ways the group is promoting community pride.”

Reed, an Everett resident who works at the city of Bellevue, said the goal of The Slow Shrink is to look at longer-term issues that may be difficult for city staff to address directly.

“I think having this app to trace patterns, instead of just violations, is a good tandem in addition to the Everett at Work app,” Reed said.

Since the map launched a few weeks ago, few people have contributed to it, Reed said. But it’s been tested and features some identifying markers already. The shuttered Fred Meyer along Casino Road is listed on the map as a vacant property, for example, and someone had recommended the painting of a new mural in the Riverside neighborhood near Henry M. Jackson Park. (Reed said Bunker Arts Collective has plans to paint five murals across the city in 2026).

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Reed said he will review reports of vacant or abandoned properties to ensure those reports focus on observable conditions, not code enforcement or compliance issues, and to make sure reports are not unfairly painting areas in a bad light. He hopes that the map can lead to productive conversations about how residents and the city can work together to activate more spaces across Everett.

“I don’t want this to be finger-pointing, I don’t want this to be scorched earth,” Reed said. “We already have too much division these days. What I’m hoping we can come to an agreement on is, did these spaces used to exist? Did it used to serve a purpose to us? Can it still serve a purpose to us, or should we rethink how we’re doing things?”

To access the map, visit bunkerartscollective.org/the-slow-shrink.

Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.