REDI Housing Town Hall Final Report

Description of the Report

The Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI) prepared this report to show how the national crisis is impacting communities in Richmond, California and to emphasize the need for solutions that minimize this critical situation, especially for the city’s most vulnerable populations. Richmond has a long history of being a welcoming city where many working families can find an affordable home to buy or rent. Now, more than ever, is the opportunity to develop short and long term solutions that allow Richmond to continue to be a place for those who want to call it home.


As of 2009, more than 2,000 homes in Richmond are currently in foreclosure with a projected 3,000 more to be in foreclosure next year. This second wave of foreclosure impacts both homeowners and renters....

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Housing Crisis Town Hall

BANKS BAILED OUT,
THOUSANDS KICKED OUT
RICHMOND COMMUNITY HAS SOLUTIONS


Richmond Housing Crisis Town Hall:
Community members will present new research
and demand relief from bank and elected officials
STOP PREVENTABLE FORECLOSURES
KEEP FAMILIES IN THEIR HOMES

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Richmond Planning Commission to Require a Comprehensive Cap on Chevron's Crude Oil

Community applauds the decision as necessary to prevent more pollution and related health ailments in the Bay Area

 

The Richmond Planning Commission voted to require a "comprehensive crude cap" as a part of Chevron's proposed expansion of its Richmond oil refinery. "This was a significant step fotward for environmental justice in the city of Richmond and beyond," said Dr. Henry Clark, executive director of the West County Toxics Coalition. Hundreds of community members with the Richmond Alliance for Environmental Justice, a coalition of community-based organizations, packed the hearing and urged Richmond's Planning Commission to stop Chevron from expanding the refinery's capacity to process heavier and dirtier crude oil.

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A Healthy Richmond, California Endowment looks at REDI

Healthy Richmond, California Endowment Report

Boom-and-bust cycles have shaped the city of Richmond’s history. Its population quadrupled between 1940 and 1943; later, with the closing of its World War II shipyards, the population shrank dramatically. From 1970 to 2000, it grew at only half the rate of the rest of the East Bay. Today, Richmond remains an important industrial center for the Bay Area, home to nearly a third of all jobs in the manufacturing, wholesale and transportation sectors. Because of Richmond’s reliance on industrial economies, much of the city’s land is zoned for industrial and commercial use.

Beset by decades of economic, social and environmental challenges, Richmond faced significant financial shortfalls. “Historically it was unable to access its fair share of regional resources and was a city dealing with disinvestment,” recalls Juliet Ellis, executive director of the environmental justice organization Urban Habitat. “And for a combination of reasons the relationship between the City Council and community members was extremely tense, at an all-time low.”

REDI Document Archive

The Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI) has produced documents which support its projects and campaigns in core focus areas which include, equitable land use and planning, quality jobs and workforce training, affordable, safe and reliable public transit, greater community ownership and creating a healthy environment.

The documents are listed in reverse chronological order

Policy Implementation for Richmond General Plan

REDI Implementation Measure REDI developed a series of policy recommendations and implementation measures in the areas of land use, housing, transportation, economic development and health. The goal of these policies is to discourage displacement, segregation and gentrification practices that have occurred in cities that are undergoing similar change. When implemented, these policies can provide community benefits for all residents, specifically low-income communities and communities of color.

REDI’s policies were developed with technical assistance from Public Advocates, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), Urban Habitat, Partnership for Working Families, and Human Impact Partners. All policies were carefully reviewed and prioritized by community members and edited by the technical assistance partners.

REDI submitted this document to the Richmond City Council, Planning Department, and the consulting firm, MIG for review and consultation in their development of implementation measures for the General Plan.

The executive summary provides a snapshot of REDI’s larger proposals that we believe can guide the City toward a path of greater equity and sustainability.

The full document is available for download (PDF).

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REDI Policy Recommendations

The following policies and implementation plans are designed to give life to the Richmond Equitable Development Initiative's (REDI) core principles and goals and to provide needed clarity and specificity to our shared goal of a stronger, healthier and more equitable Richmond. For additional information, please review REDI's Policy Brief document.

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Community Commits to Campaign

Richmond Leaders and Community Members Commit to "Equitable" Policies for Richmond General Plan

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