Under new board president Rex Richardson, the Southern California Association of Governments—the country's largest MPO—has pledged to combat racism through regional planning, including equitable housing development.
"Systemic racism has a direct impact on the quality of life and health of the 19 million residents within the SCAG region. We have a responsibility to acknowledge that increasing economic segregation, the housing crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic all have been exacerbated by race and inequality. As we put forward regional planning documents or long range plans, like our Sustainable Community Strategy, our Regional Transportation Plan and other activities that we may take on as an MPO, we have to do it moving forward with the lens of both public health and the lens of race."
"I think now's a moment where public servants and civil servants can't be neutral on this issue. We're all being called forward to do all that we can to address racism and inequity, and it should be considered a professional standard, not political. Some folks consider anything related to race as a political issue. As public employees, sometimes we're trained to shy away from those issues. We should create a culture and a workplace where it's our job to ensure that inequity is rooted out. We should make sure that it's moving into our policies and plans and our municipal codes."
Read the full story: Q&A: SCAG President Rex Richardson Calls for Antiracist Regional Planning [paywall]
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