Seattle Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (SASPER)

The Seattle Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (SASPER) was a collaboration among the University of Washington (UW), Washington State Department of Health, Public Health–Seattle & King County, the City of Seattle, the non-profit community-based organization Duwamish River Community Coalition (DRCC), and DRCC’s Duwamish Valley Youth Corps. The SASPER aimed to better understand community strengths, needs, and priorities for climate change and disasters in the Duwamish Valley communities of South Park and Georgetown in Seattle. These neighborhoods are home to racially and ethnically diverse and low-income communities and those living in the Duwamish Valley experience a disproportionate share of climate change impacts in the region. In response, the City of Seattle is developing a Duwamish Valley Resilience District (DVRD) – a multistakeholder effort to advance environmental justice and racial equity in climate adaptation efforts in the Duwamish Valley. DRCC has also launched a Climate Justice program to advocate for just and equitable climate change adaptation policies for the Duwamish Valley. The results from the SASPER will inform future development of Seattle’s DVRD and DRCC’s Climate Justice advocacy initiatives, in addition to other local, state, and national practice-based and academic initiatives.

Materials from this project, including the SASPER survey and evaluation interview guide, can be adapted for use in other communities within and outside of Washington state. Data and materials from this study may be of interest to academic researchers, public health practitioners, emergency managers, and policy makers who are interested in community-centered research and resilience planning.