Urban Planning and Environmental Education

Urban Planning and Environmental Education
With a grant from Hewlett, the Transportation and Land Use Coalition promoted a bicycle-friendly Bay Area with a Bike Parade on Bike to School Day.

Poor Bay Area communities have fewer parks per capita than other parts of the region, and residents have fewer opportunities to get out into open spaces. Low-income neighborhoods also tend to have worse public transportation options. Fortunately, there are state and local funds available to address these inequities—as well as well-managed nonprofits skilled in getting a fair share of these funds for disadvantaged communities. In 2006, the Environment Program supported these organizations in:

  • Expanding access to parks and open spaces.
  • Improving options for walking, biking, and public transit.
  • Providing environmental education to low-income children.
Urban Planning and Environmental Education Grants Authorized in 2006
 
2006 Highlights

In June 2006, we made a grant to the Transportation and Land Use Coalition to help low-income communities secure public transportation funds. This money will empower neighborhoods to create bus routes to health clinics and community colleges, develop safe routes for children to walk or bike to school, and improve pedestrian safety at intersections. 

A grant to the Rose Foundation supported nine local groups working to alleviate environmental degradation that damages public health in poor Bay Area communities. With this funding, the foundation will also seed a variety of after-school environmental education programs that focus on issues such as the cultivation of organic foods and the health effects of poor water and air quality.

We also supported the Peninsula Community Foundation’s Center for Venture Philanthropy which, in turn, supports fifteen environmental programs in low-income areas of San Mateo County, linking high school science classes with environmental groups, making science curricula come alive with field trips and applied experiments, and encouraging local environmental groups to become more culturally competent.

2007 Goals
 
  • By 2009, help fifteen Oakland schools increase the number of children walking or biking to school by 50 percent
  • Launch a new bus rapid transit project in East Oakland by 2008
  • Enable fifteen environmental organizations to reach low-income youth of color
  • Expand outdoor experiential learning programs in schools