Low Pollution Neighborhoods

The largest source of harmful air pollution in Seattle comes from motor vehicles. The Low Pollution Neighborhood (LPN) program offers better ways to bike, roll, and take transit around your neighborhood, contributing to a healthier community and improved quality of life. LPNs are tailored to each neighborhood’s specific needs and priorities, helping create welcoming neighborhood spaces where people feel healthy, connected, and comfortable lingering, local businesses thrive through stronger neighborhood connections, and communities work together to shape the places they share.  

LPNs are possible thanks to the voter-approved Seattle Transportation Levy. 

The Low Pollution Neighborhood program creates: 

• Easy ways to walk, roll, and bike to everyday places
• Fewer car fumes
• Cooler and greener, more inviting public spaces
• Safter, calmer streets
• Healthier and stronger communities

Examples of improvements may include improving walking connections, safety improvements, shaded and greener streets, shared mobility hubs, on-street EV charging, seasonal events or activations, and other neighborhood specific investments identified through community input. 

How you can get involved

Over the next three years, SDOT is partnering with residents, businesses, and community organizations in Lake City, Capitol Hill, South Park, and Georgetown to explore innovative solutions that reduce pollution and build stronger neighborhoods. 

Upcoming Open House Dates

Tell us what would make it easier and more comfortable for you to reach the places you rely on such as local businesses, parks, libraries, schools, and community spaces. Your ideas directly shape the improvements we design together. 

Share your ideas to help create a healthier more connected neighborhood: 

• Georgetown: Thurs September 24, 5–8pm, Mini Mart City Park
• Capitol Hill: Sunday September 27, 1–4pm,  Cathy Hillenbrand Community Room
• South Park: Tues October 6, 5–8pm, South Park Community Center
• Lake City: Tues October 13, 5–8pm, Elliott Bay Brewing Lake City

Note: Event links go to Eventbrite where the City Privacy Policy doesn't apply. Registration is optional, but helps us plan attendance. Please check the vendor's privacy policy for details about information collection and use. 

These first four neighborhoods were selected because they are communities overburdened by air pollution or ready to reimagine car‑dependent infrastructure. They also represent diverse conditions and priorities, helping us learn what types of approaches work best in different neighborhood contexts. Lessons learned from this pilot phase will help guide future Low Pollution Neighborhood investments beyond 2028.  

Overview

Low Pollution Neighborhoods meet Seattle’s commitments in the Climate Change Response Framework by developing strategies for reducing climate pollution, improving street safety, and strengthening neighborhood resilience. 

In 2025, SDOT received a federal RAISE (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity) planning grant to support program development, technical analysis, and pilot planning. This phase focuses on working with selected communities, identifying neighborhood priorities, and developing a practical toolbox to guide future Low Pollution Neighborhood efforts. 

The program advances policy direction established through mayoral executive orders and Seattle’s adopted climate and transportation plans. In 2022 and 2025, Mayor Bruce Harrell signed two Transportation and Climate Justice Executive Orders (2022-07 and 2025–04) directing City departments to expand coordinated actions that equitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation. Low Pollution Neighborhoods were identified as a key implementation strategy. 

Funding and Policy Framework

Planning is funded through the federal RAISE grant. Implementation will be supported by $8 million from the Seattle Transportation Levy dedicated to Low Pollution Neighborhood projects, alongside aligned investments from existing City programs and department-led initiatives. 

Low Pollution Neighborhoods align with Seattle’s adopted goals and frameworks, including: 

• Climate Change Response Framework
• Seattle Transportation Plan
• One Seattle Plan (Comprehensive Plan)
• Climate Action Plan
• Vision Zero
• Transportation Electrification Blueprint
• Transportation and Climate Justice Executive Orders 

Together, these policies guide Seattle’s work to reduce emissions, improve safety, advance equity, and prepare neighborhoods for climate-related challenges such as extreme heat, air pollution, and flooding. 

Community Partnership and Co-Creation

Community partnership is central to the Low Pollution Neighborhood approach. We will work with community-based organizations, residents, and local businesses to understand neighborhood priorities, share information, and co-create strategies that reflect daily realities. The outcomes of our conversations will include the following:  

Shared Learning:

Exchange information about neighborhood conditions, including air quality, climate risks, and past or planned investments, while introducing the Low Pollution Neighborhood approach. 

Local Priorities: 

Understanding communities' most pressing concerns about pollution, discussions about particular kinds of investments, interventions, policies, and programs that could support the creation of Low Pollution Neighborhoods.

Partnership Readiness: 

Assess potential for community partnership opportunities and readiness. 

Coordination:

Align LPN outreach with related efforts such as the Seattle Transportation Plan, sidewalk and tree equity initiatives, infrastructure upgrades, and mobility and resilience hub planning. 

Document and Evaluate: 

Capture themes, priorities, and opportunities to inform the next phase of LPN planning and design. 

Connect to Investment: 

Identify opportunities to align local, state, and federal funding with neighborhood priorities.  

How Low-Pollution Neighborhoods Take Shape

Planning and engagement will help build a shared toolkit for Low Pollution Neighborhoods; a practical menu of design ideas, programs, services, and policy approaches that can be adapted to different places. 

Not every tool will be used in every neighborhood. The goal is to work with communities to identify what fits local needs, timing, and capacity.  This collaborative process ensures that each neighborhood receives improvements that reflect its unique character, concerns, and aspirations. 

On-street charging expands access to cleaner vehicles, especially for residents or visitors without off-street parking. Low-emission delivery tools can support local businesses while reducing noise and air pollution. 

Timeline

2023 - 2024 

• Early community conversations and interdepartmental coordination 

2025

• RAISE Planning grant awarded
• Consultant procurement and contracting
• Internal review and selection of focus areas for first Low Pollution Neighborhoods  

2026-2027  

• Focused engagement, planning and pilot development in selected neighborhoods  
• Develop Low Pollution Neighborhood toolkit
• Finalize Implementation and Funding Plan to guide implementation  

2028 and Beyond

• Implement and evaluate at least 3 Low Pollution Neighborhoods  
• Learning and potential expansion 

Citywide Climate and Pollution Burden

This map compares Seattle’s Equity Priority Areas with neighborhoods that experience higher levels of air pollution. Equity Priority Areas are identified using the City’s Racial and Social Equity Index, which highlights communities facing greater social and economic barriers. The map shows where these areas overlap with higher air pollution burdens, illustrating how environmental health risks often affect the same communities already facing inequity.