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Climate planning team shares community survey results and interactive vulnerability index
Summary
City staff reported 1,500+ survey responses to the climate planning effort, highlighted wildfire smoke and extreme heat as leading public concerns, and demonstrated an interactive Climate Vulnerability Index that maps exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity at the census block-group level.
Marin Murphy and Logan Callan updated the committee on the city's climate-planning work, including a community survey and a new Climate Vulnerability Index mapping tool.
The nut graf: staff said the city received more than 1,500 survey responses (survey available in six languages), learned that wildfire smoke, extreme heat and intense storms were top impacts reported by residents, and developed a mapping tool that layers exposure, sensitivity and adaptive-capacity indicators at the census block-group level to guide planning and outreach.
Murphy said the survey gathered both quantitative and open-ended responses; among multiple-choice results the most commonly cited past impacts were wildfire smoke, extreme heat and intense storms. She said roughly 37 percent of respondents reported household income at or below Spokane's median and that respondents skewed toward homeowners; staff reported stronger response rates from Northwest and South parts of the city and lower response rates in Northeast Spokane and plan targeted outreach there.
Callan demonstrated the Climate Vulnerability Index story map, which combines indicators for exposure (heat, wildfire smoke, air quality, precipitation), sensitivity (age, health conditions, housing quality) and adaptive capacity (income, access to services). The tool allows users to view individual indicator layers or the combined vulnerability index and to overlay assets such as hospitals, bridges and community centers. Callan said the tool is focused on local averages rather than statewide baselines so the index highlights variation within the Spokane community.
Staff said next steps include targeted engagement (focus groups for Northeast Spokane and youth), an Earth Day community workshop and moving into the climate risk and vulnerability assessment (CRVA) phase during spring with a goal to complete it in May; staff also said they will seek Phase 2 funding from the Climate Commitment Act to continue policy development and integrate climate planning into the comprehensive plan by the June 2026 deadline established in House Bill 1181.
Ending: Staff will continue outreach including district workshops, a public Earth Day event and targeted focus groups, and will return with further updates to the committee as the CRVA and policy work proceed.
