News, Views and Analysis from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments
Residents in the Bay Area and across the state will have more access to energy-saving programs after the California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed decision this month expanding Regional Energy Networks. Read More
Climate change. Sea-level rise. Resilience.
The terms are ubiquitous in the public realm, planning circles and among policymakers around the Bay Area. The topics are among the most vexing of our time. Read More
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat ran an interesting story on Point Blue Conservation Science, an organization that tracks environmental changes. Read More
Caltrans has released new reports as part of an effort to understand how and where climate change may impact the state’s highway system. Read More
What's new with bike sharing, housing development fees and high speed rail? Settle in for some in-depth reading on these and other topics of interest to regional government. Housing, transportation, the environment and the latest MTC publications are all included in this month's library link round-up. Read More
This month’s open access, long-form reading recommendations from the MTC-ABAG Library cover housing issues, Regional Measure 3, local and state transit, the inner workings of ridesharing companies, climate change, and the overall resilience of the Bay Area. Continue reading on to take a closer look! Read More
This past fall’s special edition of Metro Talks – a speaker series hosted by the Bay Area’s four regional agencies at the Bay Area Metro Center – featured three design experts participating in the Resilient by Design Bay Area Challenge. The speakers included Henk Ovink, the Special Envoy for International Water Affairs for the Kingdom of Netherlands, Rupal Sanghvi, Founder of HealthxDesign, and Cathy Simon, Fellow, American Institute of Architects.
In the above video, the speakers share their unique professional and personal perspectives on what resilience means and why it matters, including how research and design can help make the Bay Area more resilient to the impacts of climate change including sea level rise and flooding. As leaders in integrating the disciplines of public health, architectural design, ecology, social equity and public sector ingenuity, they shared insights for how the Bay Area can navigate the challenges and opportunities ahead in local and regional resilience building. Read More
Love our daily news headlines but craving some deeper knowledge? Settle in for some in-depth reading on the important issues affecting our region. This month we highlight some publications that contextualize and illuminate the regional housing crisis, including this thorough literature review from CASA and a handy summary of the significant housing bills passed in California in 2017.
Other topics included in this month’s reading list include Regional Measure 3, local Bay Area transportation projects, transit ridership, automated vehicles, and climate change. Read More
The 2017 North Bay Wildfire Affected Areas Map displays the geographic extent of the four 2017 North Bay Wildfires, as well as the number of structures damaged or destroyed within the fires’ perimeters. The map gives a good sense of just how large the fires were, and how destructive. In addition to the lives lost, there were nearly 6,000 structures reported as damaged or destroyed within the Tubbs Fire alone (#2), taking out a major chunk of Santa Rosa’s (and the wider region’s) housing stock. In response to this regional emergency, MTC and ABAG have offered technical assistance, staff resources and other key information for local elected officials, city managers and the public. Read More
The evidence is everywhere: sea levels are on the rise and countries around the world must adapt before disaster strikes. The San Francisco Bay Area is at the forefront of this nascent adaptation effort with the Resilient by Design challenge, which has selected 10 high-powered teams from across the globe to come up with innovative design ideas that address sea level rise and resilience to climate change around the region. Read More