What’s New
A Better Bay Area, by the Numbers
Public Advocates Blog – May 2, 2013
By Richard Marcantonio
When the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) issued their draft Plan Bay Area last month, thousands of pages of documents and appendices went up on their website. We think several charts speak volumes. That’s where MTC/ABAG reported the performance outcomes our region can expect to see from their draft plan (which they are calling the “preferred alternative”) compared to the community alternative: the Equity, Environment and Jobs, or EEJ, scenario. In April, MTC/ABAG identified the EEJ scenario as environmentally “superior” to their draft plan. But as soon as they released that news, they backpedaled on their own analysis, saying the EEJ scenario was only slightly better than their draft plan.
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Bay Area SCS Released — Get the Inside Scoop from Local Advocates
ClimatePlan Blog – April 11, 2013
The draft of the Bay Area’s first Sustainable Communities Strategy, Plan Bay Area, was released on March 22nd and regional advocates are already weighing in. Plan Bay Area, scheduled for adoption this summer, will guide development decisions and transportation investments in the 9-county Bay Area region until 2040. The Bay Area is often considered the most progressive region in the state, but did the draft SCS live up to those expectations? According to some of our Bay Area partners, it looks like a relatively strong draft but there is still room for improvement. Read on for more info from some of our partners in the region, and links to their analyses.
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MTC adopts framework for first-of-its-kind grant program
Greenbelt Alliance Place Matters Blog – Feb 28, 2013
By Stephanie Reyes
Since the beginning of the Plan Bay Area process, Greenbelt Alliance has been working to make sure the plan—our region’s sustainable communities strategy—includes a robust land conservation component for protecting the natural and agricultural lands that make the Bay Area such a great place to live. One key piece we have pushed the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for is the creation of the first-ever grant program for land conservation funded through a regional transportation plan. It’s been a long process—starting with the initial proposal, making progress and suffering setbacks along the way, and, last May, committing $10 million to the program.
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Regional Resources
Health co-benefits and transportation-related reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the San Francisco Bay Area
By Neil Maizlish et al, published in the American Journal of Public Health
This research quantified health benefits of transportation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) in the San Francisco Bay Area. The research showed that increasing median daily walking and bicycling from 4 to 22 minutes reduced the burden of cardiovascular disease and diabetes by 14%, increased the traffic injury burden by 39%, and decreased GHGE by 14%.
Learn more and download the report here.
6 Wins for Social Equity
This fact sheet outlines the objectives of the 6 Wins Network in the Bay Area, a group that came together to ensure the Bay Area’s next transportation and housing plan, One Bay Area, serves residents of ALL races and income levels equally.
Download the brochure
Strategic Investments for a Better Bay Area: A Policy Platform for the Bay Area’s 2013 RTP/SCS
TransForm, a leading advocacy organization in the Bay Area, has developed a policy platform for the Bay Area’s 2013 Regional Transportation Plan. “Strategic Investments for a Better Bay Area” was developed in consultation with a number of other organizations, and includes a set of policy recommendations to influence the transportation investments in the RTP. For more information, and to sign on to endorse the platform, go to TransForm’s website. You can also download a summary of the platform here.
Vision California: Bay Area Regional Results
By Calthorpe Associates, October 2010
This analysis assesses the economic, energy, health, and land impacts of different ways to accommodate the Bay Area’s expected growth. Scenarios were developed to reflect a range of land use choices, from a business-as-usual future based on past trends to more compact options, including those represented by the regional FOCUS plan.
Download the Regional Results Summary
One Bay Area website
The Bay Area’s regional agencies, together with their partners at local governments, nonprofit organizations, business and community groups, and with interested Bay Area residents, are working together as One Bay Area to develop the Sustainable Communities Strategy.
Link to One Bay Area website
Bay Area Affordable Housing Survey Report
By the Non-Profit Housing Association, January 2010
This poll assessed how the current economic crisis is affecting our Bay Area neighbors. Its findings demonstrate popular support in the Bay Area for building more affordable homes.
Download the poll report
Grow Smart Bay Area
By Greenbelt Alliance
This program provides a vision for how the Bay Area can grow sustainably.
Visit the website
Click here for ClimatePlan’s complete Resource Library.
Quick Fact
In the San Francisco Bay Area, a recent study found that when people both live and work within a half a mile of a transit station, they are ten times more likely to take transit. Approximately 42 percent who live and work near transit take the bus or train, whereas just 4 percent of others ride transit to work.
Regional Overview
• The Bay Area region includes 101 cities, nine counties, and more than 7 million residents, and is expected to grow to 9 million residents by 2035.
• A successful Sustainable Communities Strategy in the Bay Area will provide a range of important benefits including reduced traffic congestion and air pollution and a better balance between location of jobs and homes.
• A number of agencies are involved in transportation and land use planning in the Bay Area, and have joined together, along with nonprofit organizations and other stakeholders, as OneBayArea to work on the Sustainable Communities Strategy. Ultimately, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, in conjunction with the Association of Bay Area Governments, is responsible for developing the SCS.
When will the first Sustainable Communities Strategy be adopted? Other key dates in the process?
• The Bay Area’s first SCS (“Plan Bay Area”) will be adopted as part of the 2013 Regional Transportation Plan. A few key elements were approved by MTC and ABAG in May 2012. Download the timeline for plan development here.
• The OneBayArea agencies have released a Transportation Investment Strategy, a Preferred Land Use Scenario, and an Alternative Scenarios Report which can be found here.
What are the SB 375 GHG reduction targets?
• 2020: 7% per capita reduction from 2005 level
• 2035:15% per capita reduction from 2005 level
To get involved and learn more, see the websites of partner groups listed below. Contact ClimatePlan for help getting connected.
What They’re Saying
“We see [SB 375] as providing real community benefits. We have a problem in our community with air quality, so this is a significant benefit for us. It will also give us more energy security and independence, and most importantly it will give us a more livable community.” — Mayor Janet Abelson – El Cerrito
Partners in the Region
American Lung Association in California
Breathe California
ChangeLab Solutions
Greenbelt Alliance
NRDC
Non-Profit Housing Association
Public Advocates
Public Health Institute
Regional Asthma Management & Prevention Initiative
SPUR
TransForm
Urban Land Institute – San Francisco
Urban Habitat
