Policy Institute examines SB 375 and implementation opportunities in sustainable communities

The UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy is hosting four forum sessions from January to March that will bring together researchers, policy-makers, and stakeholders to discuss and explore the latest relevant research and real-world experience with implementation of SB 375 and related policies.

• Session 1: Sustainable Communities 101: Wednesday January 22nd, 2014, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
• Session 2: Evaluating Effects and Evidence: Wednesday February 5th, 2014, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
• Session 3: Improving the Models: Wednesday March 5th
• Session 4: Increasing Implementation Follow-through: Wednesday, March 19th

California’s transportation sector is an integral part of the state’s economy, enabling personal mobility and goods movement for millions of people. It also accounts for more than 38% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, with around 75% of these emissions coming from passenger autos and trucks.

The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008, Senate Bill 375 (SB 375) aims to help California reach its AB 32 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions targets by creating incentives for smarter land use and transportation planning with the goal of enabling more sustainable communities. SB 375 provides a framework for regional planning agencies to integrate their transportation, land use, and housing  plans with performance targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.

This has the potential to enable communities that provide better jobs-housing balance, multiple options for travel and agricultural and natural-land preservation.  However, realizing this potential requires an understanding of the strategies, costs, benefits and implementation challenges for sustainable community efforts across the state.

Policy forum speakers will address the role of SB 375 in meeting the state’s climate, environmental quality, public health, economic and community needs. The forum series will provide participants with information regarding the importance of reducing vehicle miles traveled (the ‘third leg of the stool’) and the necessity for smarter planning that integrates transportation and land use planning in order to be able to successfully reduce greenhouse emissions.

For more information about the policy forum series, click here: http://policyinstitute.ucdavis.edu/informing-policy-3/policy-forum-series-2/sb-375/

Photo: Guests attend the first policy forum session on sustainable communities at the University of California Center in Sacramento on Jan. 22. Photo Credit: Nishant Seoni, UC Davis

Institute of Transportation Studies

University of California, Davis

1605 Tilia Street, Davis, CA 95616

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