Seattle Department of Transportation Climate Change Response Framework
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) faced the pressing challenge of addressing the significant contribution of transportation to the city's greenhouse gas emissions. With transportation accounting for approximately 60% of Seattle's emissions, there was an urgent need for a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions, promote sustainable travel options, and ensure climate justice for historically underserved communities.
Method
Cityfi collaborated with SDOT to develop the Climate Change Response Framework (CCRF), providing strategic guidance and technical expertise. This included co-developing a customized emissions modeling and scenario planning tool to evaluate potential strategies across various factors such as vehicle miles traveled (VMT), greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, cost, feasibility, and equity impacts. Cityfi also facilitated multi-stakeholder engagement efforts to ensure the framework reflected the needs and perspectives of diverse city leaders.
The collaboration resulted in SDOT's first-ever Climate Change Response Framework, outlining actionable strategies to reduce transportation emissions and promote sustainable mobility. Key outcomes included setting ambitious mode shift targets—such as increasing transit trips from 11% to 24% and reducing gas-powered vehicle trips from 65% to 35% by 2030. The framework also emphasized equity, aiming to co-create solutions with communities disproportionately affected by climate change.
