In July, we released Gardening for Transportation Justice, a report that demonstrated the amazing policy solutions frontline communities are able to implement to reduce carbon emissions and foster climate resilience if they are part of a grant program that takes a community-centered approach.
Now, our policy team has analyzed the state’s 2025–2027 budget. In A Disparity in Washington State’s Transportation Budget, we argue that the state’s current approach to transportation and climate funding falls short of its equity and environmental justice commitments and that Washington must prioritize making transparent, explicit investments in frontline communities.
Download the full report or read the executive summary for a quick overview!
Whether it’s groundbreaking tools like the Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map, incisive analysis of state policies and their implementation, or the capture and synthesis of crucial community data, Front and Centered has a decade-long track record of producing reports and tools that advance innovative solutions to the issues affecting not only frontline communities but also all Washingtonians.
These reports and tools don’t just represent the expertise of Front and Centered staff. They represent our collaborative work with a wide range of thought partners and experts, including government agencies and other organizations. In particular, these reports and tools represent the expertise, training, and lived experiences of the frontline communities within our statewide coalition.
This page compiles most, if not all, of the reports and tools produced by Front and Centered, and is a representation of our work over the years to advance our vision of a Just Transition. Our reports and tools are divided into several categories, and you can use the buttons below to navigate between each category and watch related videos!
A Disparity in Washington State’s Transportation Budget: Analysis and Recommendations (2025)
We argue in this analysis that the state’s approach to transportation and climate funding falls short of its commitments and that Washington must make transparent, explicit investments in frontline communities.
Gardening for Transportation Justice: A Blueprint for Community-centered Carbon Reduction (2025)
In this report, we present a community-centered model of grantmaking that builds trust between communities and government and ensures that the most equitable and impactful climate solutions are implemented.
2024 Frontline Report on Heal Progress (2024)
In the second edition of our HEAL Progress Report, we examine the state’s implementation of the HEAL Act three years after its passage. State agencies were assessed using the HEAL Spectrum—a rubric that outlines the state’s journey toward exemplifying the spirit of HEAL.
Heal Progress Report: Seeding the Culture and Building the Structures for a Just Transition through Washington’s Landmark Law on Environmental Justice (2023)
The first edition of our HEAL Progress Report examines Washington State’s implementation of the HEAL Act two years after its passage and provides recommendations for continued progress.
A Transportation Justice Agenda for Washington State (2022)
This policy brief proposes a sweeping transportation justice agenda to reorient the way we invest our transportation dollars and prioritize safety with clear standards for improving transit and safe sidewalks and crosswalks. It also unveils the Washington Transit Access Map.
Exposing False Solutions: How Washington’s Cap and Trade Program Gives Industrial Polluters a Free Pass (2022)
This report examines Washington State policy regarding “emissions-intensive [and] trade-exposed” (EITE) industries—facilities that release large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions—as part of the state’s cap-and-trade scheme.
COVID-19 Gap Analysis: An Initial Glimpse at Washington State (2021)
Amidst a triple crisis of COVID-19 and its variants, racial injustice, and climate change, Front and Centered set out to examine the gaps which exist for frontline communities during this especially trying time. How and why did we get here?
Lessons from IVAN-Washington: Recommendations for Prioritizing Environmental Justice... (2025)
This report is the culmination of our work with frontline communities as well as with state agencies and other governmental partners to find solutions to barriers faced by communities when they need to report environmental issues.
Washington Transit Access Map (2022)
This map allows users to look up information about the type of transit service available in any location in Washington State. It is a tool for anyone interested in understanding where transit is frequent and reliable, and who has access and who doesn’t.
Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map
This interactive tool provides detailed, neighborhood-level data comparing and summing environmental health risk factors in communities across Washington State. It is the first tool to quantify the cumulative impact of multiple environmental risk factors.
Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map: Comparing Environmental Health Risk Factors Across Communities (2019)
Learn more about the origins and methodology behind the Washington State Environmental Health Disparities Map in our report.
Just Movement Listening Sessions and Survey Findings (2021)
Through Front and Centered’s statewide listening sessions and surveys, Washington State’s communities of color named air quality, health, and increasing the quantity and quality of public transit as priorities for action.
Community Report on Environmental Justice (2021)
This report offers a firsthand account of how human health is impacted by pollution and climate change, and how it can be improved by government focus. As stated by frontline voices, environmental justice can be achieved by directing the focus of state agencies to the most impacted communities.
An Unfair Share: Exploring the Disproportionate Risks from Climate Change... (2018)
The intent of this report is to spark new research on climate and equity to fill key knowledge gaps (e.g. the cost of climate impacts on communities of color) and to support community-based efforts to develop solutions and increase resilience.
Front and Centered 2017 Community Listening Sessions: Pollution, Climate Change, and the Puget Sound (2017)
Communities of color see Puget Sound as part of a healthy community and ecosystem and a place to recreate, but they are feeling the affects of pollution in many ways. This report shares what we heard.
Washington 2024 Community Assemblies: Final Report (2025)
In 2024, Just Futures worked with communities across Washington State to hold community assemblies and advance collaborative governance. In this report, we share what we learned and what we recommend to all those who are passionate about civic participation and community-centered policy solutions.
Cornerstones of Collaborative Governance for a Just and Equitable Future (2023)
This report presents a comprehensive framework to transform governance in Washington to promote social and economic justice. The framework aligns with the state’s 10-year Plan to Dismantle Poverty, and it is rooted in democracy, self-determination, sustainability, and equity.
Accelerating a Just Transition in Washington State: Climate Justice Strategies from the Frontlines (2020)
A Just Transition requires that we center in governance those who are disproportionately impacted, restore community connections to place, create livelihoods within a healthy environment, and transition to renewable resources and energy.
Video Briefings on Our Reports and Tools
