Spokane faces accelerating climate risks—including extreme heat, severe flooding, and increasing wildfire hazards—that are already threatening core infrastructure and demanding fundamental changes to future development planning. These hazards are not only disrupting daily routines and local economies but are also placing immense, unequal pressure on the built environment and essential services. The City’s commitment to climate justice is essential in this context, ensuring that future development decisions prioritize protecting vulnerable populations and overburdened communities who are most exposed to these physical climate threats.

The City of Spokane’s PlanSpokane 2046 update to its Comprehensive Plan, driven by Washington State’s Growth Management Act and climate requirements, is not merely a compliance exercise but a fundamental reorientation of policy that will profoundly influence future development and growth through 2046. The Community Climate Policy Survey (July-August 2025), which successfully gathered input from 1,419 community members, clearly identified policy priorities that will reshape Spokane’s urban form and its interaction with natural resources.

Mayor Lisa Brown has introduced a new legislative package aimed at jumpstarting affordable housing development in Spokane, with significant implications for the city's neighborhoods. This initiative, part of the broader H.O.M.E. Starts Here Plan, is designed to enhance housing stability by increasing the overall supply of homes, easing housing cost burdens on residents, and fostering more local homeownership. The proposed measures are set to directly influence the character and growth of Spokane's communities by removing obstacles to construction and providing new incentives for building.