In consultation with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Bay Localize, Breakthrough Communities, and other allies are bringing together key organizations in public health, transportation, climate justice, housing, land use, and local resilience to ensure that regional climate planning truly benefits all Bay Area communities. Under SB 375, a recently passed state planning law, California's 18 regions are charged with developing a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through smarter land use and transportation planning.

Bay Localize has been working with our allies to ensure that equity and regional self-reliance in food, water, and energy are included in this process. Toward this end, veteran environmental justice leader Dr. Carl Anthony and his organization Breakthrough Communities have convened a Social Equity Working Group of agency and community stakeholder organizations to infuse social equity and cross-sector opportunities into the strategy and planning discussions.

Together, we've begun an open process to harness the wisdom, experience, and passion of Bay Area communities so that the Sustainable Communities Strategy:

• Empowers all residents to participate as full partners in the public decision-making process
• Ensures that the benefits of new transportation and associated development accrue most to those communities that have suffered the greatest destructive impacts of past planning and that the burdens of such development are reduced for all communities
• Provides all residents access to family-supporting jobs and careers, affordable and reliable transit, safe and stable housing, quality education, vibrant public spaces, and healthy and sustainable food

For more information about this effort, please see www.OneBayArea.org or contact Aaron Lehmer at aaron@baylocalize.org.