As part of our early work in developing the Seattle Resilience Strategy, the Seattle Resilience Team distributed a survey to get a sense of what the community felt were our most pressing challenges as a city. The survey was open for nearly a month and garnered over 1600 responses online. Additional in-language responses were also collected via Seattle’s Community Liaisons who engaged residents who spoke Spanish, Chinese, Somali, Korean and Vietnamese. The top level results were as follows:
- Over 40% of respondents identified Natural Beauty and Outdoor Recreation Activities as the answer to the question “What do you love most about Seattle?” Other popular responses to that question were Seattle’s Progressive Values and Vibrant Neighborhoods.
- Affordability/Income Inequality and Homelessness were the main responses when asked what Seattle’s main challenges today are, with 80% and 57% of participants respectively. Transportation infrastructure and racial inequity were also frequent responses.
- When thinking about the future, participants viewed environmental concerns (climate change, sea level rise, natural disasters, and disaster preparedness) and how Seattle will respond to growth (gentrification, housing, infrastructure) as future challenges.
- Non-profit organizations and friends and family are who participants often turn to when experiencing hard times. Resources that would be helpful that are not currently available to participants are community connections, financial or job assistance, and access to mental health care.
Thanks to all who participated in the survey. The Seattle Resilience work continues to move forward. We’ll be posting updates on the Resilient Seattle website and there will be more opportunities to get engaged in this work in early 2018.