Urban Environmentalists has had three Meet & Greets with candidates for State Assembly district 17, corresponding to Eastern SF. We have hosted Bilal Mahmood, David Campos, and Thea Selby, and the final event with be with Matt Haney on Dec 13. We have cohosted with Streets for People and SF YIMBY. You can catch the event videos at Streets for People's YouTube page.

SF-based Urban Environmentalists will be participating in SF YIMBY's endorsement process: stay tuned for their endorsements by early Jan 2022.

We're proud to join over 200 other organizations in calling on COP26 leaders to commit to boosting bicycling as a way to quickly and effectively make progress on our climate goals. Learn more and sign your organization on too!

Last week, the ​California Efficiency + Demand Management Council invited us to speak at its Fall Conference on the essential topic of aligning climate policies with equity priorities.
Our Executive Director, Joanna Gubman, spoke about how land use reform is both a fundamental equity issue and an essential tool in fighting and adapting to climate change. She shared our vision of how the energy efficiency and demand management industry can prioritize climate and land use equity today - we just need more holistic, human-centered approaches and a willingness to fund low-tech measures like bollards and infill housing. We also encouraged attendees to move forward in a way that amplifies marginalized voices and invests in the solutions underserved communities really need.
Many thanks to fellow panelists Megan Day (NREL) and Quinn Parker (Encolor) for their inspiring words as well, and for the good conversations they sparked. Let's get to work!

Join us for an urban hike following the "Stairways to Heaven" route from Urban Trails SF. This walk will showcase some beautiful pedestrian oriented alleys and streets in a part of the city built before car-centric planning became the norm. It includes well known attractions like Coit Tower as well as gems like Macondray Lane, the inspiration for Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City.
Near the end of the hike (about 12:30pm), we will relax in Washington Square Park for lunch and write postcards to our elected officials asking to sustain Car Free JFK and extend a citywide network of safe places to walk and bike in the city.

This event is cohosted by Northern Neighbors and Walk SF.

RSVP today!

San Francisco is having a special election for our State Assemblymember! Several candidates have announced their campaigns, and Urban Environmentalists wants to give you the opportunity to meet each one. We'll be starting with Bilal Mahmood at 6pm on October 27.
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Bring your questions - this is your chance to get past the campaign ads and learn where the candidates stand on the issues that matter most to you. This event is cohosted with Streets for People.

Sign up for this virtual event at  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuduCsqTkuGdd4BX4lpqMcGCf1ri7D7VvC

Please join us for a thoughtful discussion of residential street parking, happening this evening at 7pm! The event is hosted by our friends at the Richmond Family Transportation Network, and we're thrilled to be on the panel. Register for free, bring your questions, and we'll see you at 7pm!

Update: If you missed the event, you can now watch it on video! https://youtu.be/sFDSzq4Y_4I 

While legislation is essential to climate action, the work doesn't stop there. We need thoughtful, ambitious implementation by our state agencies, too.

Lately, we've been busy spreading the word about urban environmentalism at the California Air Resources Board, which is updating the state's 2045 carbon emissions roadmap (the Scoping Plan Update). This roadmap is hugely impactful, so we need to get it right.

This past month, we submitted comments on draft roadmap targets. We argued for:

• Quick timelines for carbon neutrality
• Ambitious and enforceable reductions in driving
• Treating micromobility and walking as legitimate transportation modes that can be highly impactful climate measures
• Treating land use as an essential element of building decarbonization
• Consideration of the interconnected nature of climate change mitigation and adaptation measures

Want to learn more? Here's a look at our entire public comment. Or visit the California Air Resources Board website to learn more about the Scoping Plan.

Congratulations to Urban Environmentalists Travis Close and Venessa Boehm for getting their fantastic op-ed published in Berkeleyside! In their piece, Vanessa and Travis eloquently call for the California Legislature to pass SB 9, which would legalize duplexes and lot splits statewide. Read their op-ed here.

Opinion pieces are an essential part of getting the word out about urban environmentalism. If you would like to write your own op-ed about a topic you're passionate about, please get in touch with us at info@urbanenvironmentalists.org, or become a member and find us on the Slack at #environment. We'll help you refine your idea, provide writing tips and edit suggestions, and help you get placed in a local paper. Publishing an op-ed is surprisingly easy, we promise!

Want some inspiration? Check out some other op-eds written by Urban Environmentalists here:

• Stop Subsidizing Car Ownership -Streetsblog SF
• ​Infill housing is critical for a healthy region and climate -San Francisco Chronicle

Please join us in Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park for the Urban Environmentalists Summer Picnic! If you haven't yet checked out Car-Free JFK, this is a great opportunity to arrive by foot, bike, or scooter via JFK Drive.

Due to the pandemic, this is a BYO event: make sure to bring your own food & drink, picnic blanket, folding chair, etc. For everyone's safety, fully vaccinated attendees only.
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Sign up today, and we'll see you there!