Plan Bay Area 2040 Sets Ambitious Housing and Transportation Agenda

"The only way for the Bay Area to become a relatively affordable place to live again is for cities and counties to be more tolerant of different types of housing, according to the draft of a new regional plan," writes John King.

The Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission released a draft of the Plan Bay Area 2040 earlier this month, putting the region's housing challenge front and center, in addition to mapping out "spending priorities for what is estimated to be $303 billion in transportation funding during the life of the plan," according to King.

In addition to providing more detail about the agenda laid out by the draft plan, King also notes the state mandate for the plan, which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while making room for new housing. Given that mixture of a state mandate requiring regional and local action and coordination, it shouldn't come as a surprise that an earlier version of the plan ran into opposition "from local Tea Party activists, along with organizations as disparate as the Sierra Club and the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area." This time around, according to King, "the update seems to be moving forward without fireworks." 

Last Planetizen heard from Plan Bay Area 2040, the Greenbelt Alliance was touting the draft's target of 30 percent more housing in the region by 2040.