Mission

Urban Habitat addresses issues of social and environmental justice from a regional perspective. By partnering with various Bay Area organizations, Urban Habitat has championed many environmental and social justice issues including health, food security, energy, military base conversion, transportation, redevelopment, education and open space. Urban Habitat believes that multicultural leadership is vital as the Bay Area moves toward a socially equitable, ecologically sustainable region.

Issues

Energy, Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Waste Disposal, Pesticides, Lead, Parks and Recreation, Worker Safety, Housing, Environmental justice, Community Organizing, Jobs, Urban Land Use Planning

Activities

Policy and Advocacy Work, Capacity Building, Technical Assistance, Coalition Building, Research, Organizing, Education

Programs/
Projects

Urban Habitat's social equity and environment efforts are broken generally into: 1) policy analysis, development and advocacy work focusing on changing land use, environmental, and other public policies to stop the promotion of sprawl and to support equitable urban investment, redevelopment, and community outcomes; 2) reframing environmental justice debates through publications, media and public speaking; 3) helping grassroots organizations build capacity through action research, capacity building, training, and workshops; 4) organizing regional coalitions of low-income, people of color communities for information and idea sharing. In particular, Urban Habitat runs a leadership program for sustainable communities to educate, network, and train people of color leaders to achieve just, stable and sustainable community development, as well as coordinating a Social Equity Caucus to provide community-based organizations with a forum to discuss region-wide issues of sustainable development.

Constitutency

Multi-ethnic, Urban

Geographical Focus

Regional

Staff

5

Volunteers

20

Publications

Race, Poverty, and the Environment, bi-annual journal. Numerous other reports are available covering community resources in land use planning, transportation, organizing, brownfields, regional sustainability, gentrification, and more.

Annuual Budget

$10,000 - $100,000

Year Founded

1982