Summer 2005

Here's a peek at Urban Habitat's plans for 2005-2006.

Transportation Justice: To support our local and regional campaigns, UH will partner with leading transportation justice activists throughout the country to design an equity analysis tool that evaluates the degree to which transportation policies and programs meet the needs of low-income communities and communities of color. With an accurate tool for measuring real life impacts of policy decisions, we can more effectively identify research gaps and problem-solving strategies. This tool will also help us hold decision-making bodies accountable to the needs of the most transit dependent population groups. This project supports our long-term goal to create research tools that strengthen the environmental justice movement’s capacity to promote alternative solutions to the status quo.

Leadership Institute: UH will continue to provide customized trainings to a wide range of community partners interested in strengthening their leadership skills. Each Institute offers a clear analysis of the connections between regionalism, race and class, economic development, and the environmental health issues that shape low-income communities and communities of color. Our latest goal is to develop a candidate school that provides trainings for elected officials and those interested in running for office. The candidate school will create the space for community leaders to build strategic relationships with decision-makers and better understand a variety of issues.

Social Equity Caucus: UH will continue to serve as the coordinator of the SEC, the only multi-sector, multi-issue regional body dedicated to advancing economic, social and environmental justice in the Bay Area. We will be spending the next 12 months exploring issues related to community driven economic development. Our long-term goal is to ensure that SEC members have the capacity to influence the key economic development policies and practices shaping the region. We will be inviting leading thinkers and organizers from around the region and the country to help us strategize and develop a campaign for 2006.

Environmental Health and Justice: UH is committed to increasing our capacity to work at the state level due to the fact that state policies significantly shape the health of the region and our local communities. Over the next 12 months, we will be working with our local and regional partners to develop strategies to influence the state’s decision-making arenas. One possible action step is to join forces with others who are interested in hiring an environmental justice lobbyist.

Race Poverty & the Environment: UH is in the process of revamping our web-site and one of our top priorities is to include an electronic version of our national journal Race Poverty & the Environment. Over the next 12 months we will be exploring other ways to increase the usefulness and accessibility of RPE. We will meet with several environmental justice allies throughout the country to better understand how RPE can support their work and contribute to movement building. Our goal is to improve the content, design, and format of RPE to make it a leading resource for environmental justice organizations and decision-makers.

Signature JRE

Juliet Ellis
Executive Director
Urban Habitat