National City, California pioneered a model for implementing environmental justice considerations into planning processes—state law compels states to follow National City's leadership.
National City, California, is the first city "to pioneer an innovative environmental justice policy recently mandated for all municipalities throughout the state," reports Rachel Dovey.
National City's work informed the creation of California Senate Bill 1000, approved and signed into law in September 2016, which "requires that cities consider environmental justice in their planning process — formally, that they create environmental justice 'elements,' much like housing elements — as part of their general plan," Dovey explains. The article includes more details about the Health and Environmental Justice (HEJ) element of the National City General Plan [pdf], as approved in 2012.
To support cities and communities implementing environmental justice considerations into their planning processes, the California Environmental Justice Alliance (which was one of SB 1000's sponsors) have released a new toolkit and guide of best practices for following in National City's footsteps.
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