Tree-lined streets and abundant greenspaces. Diverse cities with plentiful housing near efficient transit and bustling businesses. Rolling hills, bountiful fields, flourishing wildlife habitat. A Bay Area where communities are resilient to floods, fires, and extreme heat. This is the future that Greenbelt Alliance works towards—a future where people and nature don’t merely survive, but thrive.
To realize a climate-resilient future, a collective shift in the way our region grows must happen.
It starts with how we use our lands.
The promising future: everyone thriving
There is enough space within existing cities to build the inclusive, climate-smart homes that are needed. There are ways we can protect entire communities from climate impacts by having well-maintained open spaces, working lands, and urban greenspaces that in turn bring access to nature and wildlife habitat.
But this thriving future requires collaboration. Housing advocates and environmentalists, local residents and government agencies, we all must work together to design innovative solutions that center nature. Decision-makers at the local, regional, and state levels must advance policies that support these solutions. Community members must be included in planning processes to ensure equitable outcomes.
For over 65 years, Greenbelt Alliance has shaped innovative policies and cultivated relationships across sectors to holistically address how the region grows. The impact of our work can be seen in the communities living in balance with nature and the millions of protected open space acres. Through these decades of experience and coalition-building, we have honed what it takes to navigate—and bring about— transformation. Now, our team of experts is leveraging this legacy to lead an agenda for change so that all Bay Area people and places thrive.
The status quo: merely surviving
Historically, inequitable decisions, racist zoning practices, lack of widespread collaboration, and siloed thinking has resulted in devastating consequences, including:Inequitable investments leaving many communities unable to plan for and respond to climate change.Soaring housing costs, which have increased housing insecurity, driving development onto our precious open space lands and exposing climate- vulnerable populations to greater risk.Sea level and groundwater rise inundating entire communities—taking lives and damaging homes and infrastructure.Placing people in fire-risk areas, leaving thousands reeling from the loss of lives and homes.
To us, thriving means:
Every community has abundant access to greenspace, open space, and working lands that provide a myriad of natural benefits that reduce climate risks and promote healthier communities. Places where our connection to the natural world is deepened, motivating us to protect and restore critical biodiversity and wildlife habitat and use our natural resources to build resilience to climate change.
Every community at wildfire risk is surrounded with a necklace of well maintained greenbelts that enhance protection from this climate hazard and provide recreation, stewardship, and economic opportunities to nearby under-resourced places.
Every shoreline, creekside, and riverside community is prepared for flooding caused by sea level and groundwater rise by implementing resilient nature-based infrastructure.
Every city has enough new homes in climate-friendly locations to ensure affordability at all income levels for existing and future residents.
Our Roadmap for 2024–2028
We know this vision is bold. It requires substantial innovation and incremental achievements. This is where we’re focusing our efforts over the next five years in the communities that need us the most.
Connecting People to Nature
Greenbelt Alliance is centering historically marginalized voices in planning decisions. We are advocating for the protection of critical natural and working lands. And we are deepening the connection between humans and the natural world. This work will bring the tools and inspiration needed to establish and steward greenspaces that will lead to healthier, thriving communities.
Here’s How:
WE WILL EDUCATE
by providing free, guided walks, outdoor activities, and workshops to engage Bay Area residents about our region’s natural benefits— strengthening the connection to the places we must preserve.
WE WILL ADVOCATE
to preserve open spaces and stop sprawl development on natural and agricultural lands and promote urban greening opportunities so that everyone has access to nature and its multitude of benefits.
WE WILL COLLABORATE
with local leaders to support place-based resilience efforts that leverage the power of nature to adapt.
Learn more about our Nature for People program and the specific projects we’re working on.
Investing in Nature
Greenbelt Alliance is supporting the planning and coordination efforts that are required to ensure state, regional, and local leaders increase funding that is dedicated to nature-based infrastructure. Our work will enable increased funding streams to levels that allow heightened protection, conservation, and stewardship of open spaces and implementation of nature-based infrastructure.
Here’s How:
WE WILL EDUCATE
by sharing our deep knowledge of land-use planning and equipping community-based organizations and residents with the resources needed to ensure they are equitably involved in planning processes.
WE WILL ADVOCATE
for funding measures that protect and invest in the long-term stewardship of greenbelt lands and urban greenspaces. We will do this by centering the perspectives and expertise of those most impacted by the climate crisis in order to accelerate funding opportunities in the places that need help now.
WE WILL COLLABORATE
across sectors to deliver the funding that is necessary for resilience to the right places. This includes collaborating with agencies to ensure initiatives incorporate equitable community engagement in their resilience planning processes.
Learn more about our Investing in Nature program and the specific projects we’re working on.
Accelerating Climate-Smart Housing Abundance
Greenbelt Alliance is activating environmentalists as advocates for housing as a climate solution, while mobilizing housing actors to advocate for new homes in the right places. We are empowering local residents to be ambassadors of climate-smart development. And we are collaborating with developers to meet the needs for housing at all income levels in climate-friendly ways. Our work will increase production of new homes within existing communities—across all income levels—in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, climate risks, and impacts on the natural environment.
Here’s How:
WE WILL EDUCATE
by bringing climate-smart guidelines to the coalitions we are a part of to inspire support, new investment, and sustainable development.
WE WILL ADVOCATE
for the right kinds of land-use policies that prioritize low-emission, climate-resilient development in places that are safe from climate hazards.
WE WILL COLLABORATE
by bringing environmentalists and housing advocates together to ensure both the climate and housing crises are considered when planning for the future.
Learn more about our Accelerating Climate-Smart Housing Abundance program and the specific projects we’re working on.
Advancing Watershed Resilience
Greenbelt Alliance is accelerating community awareness and participation in climate adaptation planning. We are forging relationships between local governments, climate-based organizations, and community members to overcome obstacles and catalyze effective and equitable flood adaptation efforts. Our work will support the jurisdictions at the highest risk of flooding to implement feasible plans that leverage natural resources to build resilience to inundation through inclusive, collaborative processes.
Here’s How:
WE WILL EDUCATE
through our Resilience Hotspots initiative to share best practices and innovative resilience models that build robust adaptation to floods.
WE WILL ADVOCATE
for flood adaptation initiatives in historically marginalized communities.
WE WILL COLLABORATE
with public agencies to increase community participation in shoreline protection and adaptation efforts and connect these organizations to regionally-focused agencies to foster regional collaboration.
Learn more about our People for Watershed Resilience program and the specific projects we’re working on.
Living with Wildfire
Greenbelt Alliance is working in fire-risk areas to facilitate innovative policies and landscape-scale management strategies that prepare communities to withstand the impacts of future fires. Our work will equip communities at greatest risk of wildfires with the best practices and local collaboration needed to co-exist with wildfire by protecting and stewarding greenbelt lands.
Here’s How:
WE WILL EDUCATE
by sharing our research and expertise on land management techniques with planners, policymakers, partners, and residents in fire-risk locations.
WE WILL ADVOCATE
for policies and lead campaigns that protect greenbelt lands and go beyond prevention methods to leverage these open spaces in ways that help communities be more resilient to wildfire.
WE WILL COLLABORATE
through Wildfire Buffer Pilot projects that bring together cross-sector stakeholders to identify greenbelt buffer areas that have the greatest impact on wildfire resilience and added co-benefits like protecting natural resources that are critical to climate adaptation.
Learn more about our Living with Wildfire program and the specific projects we’re working on.
Governing Nature-Based Resilience
Climate hazards don’t stop at municipal boundaries and our adaptation strategies cannot either. Greenbelt Alliance is working to foster the collaboration needed to plan, implement, and manage long-term resilience projects. We are facilitating the governance structures, dialogues, coordination, and best practices to strengthen cities and counties working better together.
Here’s How:
WE WILL EDUCATE
by sharing with governmental agencies current research and best practices for crafting climate-resilient governance models as frameworks for leadership accountability. We will facilitate cross-jurisdiction learning opportunities that give space for these places to work together to address complex adaptation challenges.
WE WILL ADVOCATE
for workable cross-jurisdictional governance models for climate risk reduction and resilience outcomes. We will activate our strong base of climate advocates to hold decision makers accountable when allocating funds and resources for resilience efforts.
WE WILL COLLABORATE
with leaders in climate-vulnerable communities to develop a governance structure that enables long-term operations and maintenance of nature-based solutions like living levees to protect communities from the impacts of sea level rise along the shoreline.
Learn more about our Governing Nature-Based Resilience program and the specific projects we’re working on.
The Bay Area is, and will continue to be, one of the most climate-stressed places in the world. But by working together, we will transform this region from being a place where people survive climate events, to a place where, by living with nature, we thrive.
And just as Greenbelt Alliance works to create a better Bay Area, we also strive to better ourselves as an organization. That is why we are committed to driving financial sustainability with stable and diverse sources of revenue; supporting a motivated, diverse staff and Board of Directors; and maintaining clear, equitable, and effective internal systems.
To guide this continued improvement, our staff and Board of Directors uphold the following values. They reflect who we are as an organization, what we foster in our team members, and the internal standard we use to measure our work.
GROW TOGETHER
Break down silos, amplify strengths, and support individual and organizational growth.
BE BOLD
Encourage an environment where it is safe to express opinions, bravely engage new ideas, and take smart, calculated risks.
COMMUNICATE WITH DEPTH & POSITIVITY
Clearly communicate expectations, listen carefully, and always assume best intent.
PRACTICE COMPASSION
Recognize, understand, and appreciate the unique perspective and shared humanity of others.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
Honor your commitments to yourself and your team, and accept the vulnerability of admitting when you cannot.
MAINTAIN TRANSPARENCY
Foster a culture of trust by sharing information, decision-making strategies, and compensation ranges at all levels.
ADVANCE JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, & INCLUSION
Reflect the complete spectrum of Bay Area residents, ensure equitable processes, and prioritize marginalized and underrepresented communities.
HAVE FUN
Channel the inherent joy of doing work you believe in towards creating a positive environment.
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