KayCee Downey, Planner II, 509.625.6500
Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 12:15 p.m.
A changing climate and climate-extreme events – including heat, wildfires, smoke from wildfires, flooding, and drought – are already affecting our city. Communities in the City of Spokane may experience climate impacts in many different ways, such as disruptions to the local economy and daily routines, or impacts to physical and mental health, ultimately stressing infrastructure systems, affecting community wellbeing, and harming local ecosystems.
To build solutions locally, the City of Spokane is identifying ways to support the community in the face of growing climate hazards. As part of the PlanSpokane 2046 Periodic Update to the Comprehensive Plan, this effort presents a unique opportunity to integrate climate and resiliency considerations into every aspect of the City of Spokane’s future.
The first step in this journey is identifying how the City of Spokane is impacted and who is most affected.
After months of listening to community experiences and understanding national, state, and local data, the City of Spokane Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment is now available. This technical report integrates diverse perspectives and lived experiences from a wide range of stakeholders and community members with expansive spatial data to identify climate risks and vulnerability right here in Spokane.
Read the full Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and Appendices on the Climate Planning webpage.
How does heat affect our community members? How does wildfire smoke affect buildings like schools? What risks does our local infrastructure like streets and pipes face from flooding? The Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment helps us understand and explore the answers to these questions, in addition to other climate hazards and community resources.
The Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment could not have been possible without the time and experiences shared by Spokane’s community. Your contributions helped the project team identify additional climate risks not captured by data and document analysis alone and will help prioritize risks and ultimately actions to address them.
The next phase of Climate Planning efforts will work on future goals and policies for local action to mitigate, adapt to, and address climate hazards. An early policy survey will be available later this summer, and we’ll be back for more of your feedback in the fall. We hope you will follow along with this journey and continue to shape Spokane’s resilient future.
Learn more about the City of Spokane Climate Planning efforts at our website.
Have questions for the Climate Planning team? Contact us at climateplanning@spokanecity.org.
The City of Spokane Climate Planning project is funded by a state grant. The WA Department of Commerce climate planning grant is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available on their website.
