If you live in the neighborhood where you work, shop, and go to school, then your need for transportation is significantly less than someone who has to drive to each of these places, and that in turn causes a significant reduction in your greenhouse gas emissions. Our communities are currently oriented around cars. Transitioning from a sprawling car-dependent neighborhood to a denser walkable community may be the single most important change we can make to reduce emissions.
The State does planning using the Growth Management Act (GMA), which defines a process communities go through to plan for land use and transportation over time. The GMA was (almost!) updated in 2022 to require cities to plan for climate mitigation and adaption, but failed due to lack of time. Since all of our region voted in favor of these changes, the Puget Sound Region should incorporate these planning changes in their process as they update their Comprehensive Plans.
Here are some of the policies we think will be important: