April Meeting & ways to stay engaged with Urban Environmentalists

We hope you are staying safe and finding ways to stay engaged during this difficult time. We invite you to join us for our April meeting, which will be a virtual Happy Hour at 5:30pm on Mon, Apr 6, with some guests joining from Austin and Boston. RSVP here for the Zoom info.
Recommended upcoming events

• The Environmental Effects of Social Distancing w/ Abigail Dillen from Earthjustice will be a virtual event with Manny's at 1pm on Mar 30. Manny's is providing a range of online events during this time for free, but we encourage you to pay an optional fee of $10 to help support this community space.
  • Other events on Manny's calendar you may want to check out include Sam Moss (The Importance of Protected Affordable Housing Right Now) on Mar 31, SFMTA Director Jeff Tumlin on Apr 15, and climate advocate and former presidential candidate Tom Steyer on Apr 9.
• For SF-area folks, SF YIMBY's April Monthly Meeting will include conversations with 3 SF supervisor candidates and information about volunteering with Together SF.
• 2020 Climate Ride is now Climate Rise, a daylong Virtual Rally for Solidarity and Sustainability
• Our May event will have a presentation from Hana Creger at Greenlining to talk about their equitable mobility framework.

Reporting from our successful actions

• Stimulus Success: $25 billion for transit, $12 billion for housing: Thank you to everyone who called and emailed your congressperson and Senator in support of public transit, and to everyone who signed our petition to include housing and homelessness support in the stimulus. In response to public pressure, the federal government has agreed on a stimulus package including $25 billion for transit and $12.4 billion for housing and homelessness programs. $1.3B of transit funding is expected to come to the Bay Area. We did it! You can also check out the letter we joined along with a wide coalition of housing activists.
• YIMBY Act Passes the House: Dense housing is good for both affordability and the planet. So we’re excited to share with you that the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Act passed the House earlier this month! It includes increased reporting requirements to support policies like density bonuses, easing height restrictions for residential properties, and incentivizing mixed-income developments - all of which will help create more affordable housing and reduce sprawl.

What we're reading and listening to

• What Does It Mean to Be a "Strong Town" During a Pandemic?
• A Green New Deal for City and Suburban Transportation
• How to Save Transit in California
• Outrage and Optimism's most recent podcast Corona and Climate (1): Coming Back Stronger with the Teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh. You may also want to check out their book The Future We Choose, which is also available as an ebook.

Today's Action
Finally, this is a trying time for nonprofits whose regular funding sources may be at risk when their work is needed most. I know that YIMBY Action, which supports Urban Environmentalists, has helped me stay connected to my community and has played a role in critical organizing to keep people in their homes and get people into housing during this crisis. The best way for you to support us is to join the YIMBY Action movement. You can join at a variety of price points. If you are unable to contribute financially and want to join as a volunteer member, please contact us at info at urbanenvironmentalists dot org and we will help you get involved.

Hope to see you on Apr 6!
--Zack Subin