Bay Area Businesses Launch Challenge to Fund Climate Resilience

A regional business association hopes to raise private funds for climate adaptation planning throughout California.

2 minute read

August 1, 2018, 11:00 AM PDT

By Elana Eden


Sea Level Rise

andy / Shutterstock

The Bay Area Council, a business and economic policy organization, has launched the California Resilience Challenge to fund climate adaptation planning statewide.

The initiative builds on the $6 million Resilient By Design Bay Area Challenge from the Rockefeller Foundation, which wrapped up last month with nine winning ideas to address sea-level rise and flooding around the region. Now, the Bay Area Council is seeking to establish a permanent fund focused on implementation, which would make resilience planning grants available to communities around California. In a Planning Report interview with Council leaders Jim Wunderman and Adrian Covert, Covert explains:

What we learned in the course of this work in the Bay Area is that we need a sustainable funding source to get from concept to permitability. That is a problem for projects statewide. With the California Resilience Challenge, we are bringing together businesses and philanthropies to create a statewide fund from which communities around the state can apply for grants for climate change adaptation planning. This would be for the areas of fire, drought, and flood resilience, as well as resilience from extreme heat. We will be releasing more information at the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, happening from September 12-14. For right now, folks who are interested in staying involved about the challenge and the RFP as it gets prepared should visit https://www.resilientcal.org/ and sign up for updates.

more on how business interests in the Bay Area are getting behind sustainability and resilience projects.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Large brutalist building and skyscrapers viewed from middle of wide street in downtown Houston, Texas.

Research Links Urban Design and Human Happiness

An emerging field of ‘neuroarchitectural’ research is revealing how building facades and urban design impact the human brain and body.

January 3, 2025 - Wired

Graphic illustrating street with various lanes designed in Streetmix.

Reimagining Your Street

How to use free online tools to redesign your local streetscape.

January 3, 2025 - Urbanism Speakeasy via Substack

Sprawl

Research: Sprawl Linked to Poverty

Low-income families living in high-sprawl neighborhoods are limited in their access to education, jobs, and other amenities, often trapping them in a cycle of poverty.

January 6, 2025 - Science Blog

Aerial view of Olympia, Washington with state cpaitol dome in foreground on a somewhat cloudy day.

Washington Lawmakers Eye Rent Stabilization

Democrats are pushing for a statewide rent stabilization bill that would give renters some protections while offering more flexibility for landlords than blanket rent control policies.

4 hours ago - The Urbanist

Eaton Canyon trailhead in Los Angeles County on a cloudy day.

Wildfires Devastate LA Outdoor Education Spaces and Schools

The current Los Angeles wildfires have destroyed schools and outdoor education spaces like Eaton Canyon, displacing families and disrupting vital learning and community resources while highlighting the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

5 hours ago - AP News

Close-up of person on bike wearing backpack riding on city street.

Research Affirms Safety of ‘Idaho Stop’

Allowing cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs does not negatively impact safety and can help people on bikes more effectively navigate roadways.

5 hours ago - Streetsblog California

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.