Southern California

Southern California adopted its Sustainable Community Strategy in April 2012, and ClimatePlan is now monitoring its implementation.

Find out more about Southern California’s SCS and Regional Transportation Plan.

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About the Region

The Southern California region includes six counties and has 190 cities with more than 19 million residents – over half of California’s population.

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is the agency responsible for developing the Sustainable Communities Strategy. Orange County and the Gateway Cities completed their own SCSes that have been incorporated into the region-wide SCS.

The SB 375 GHG reduction targets are 8% per capita reduction for 2020 and 13% per capita reduction for 2035.

Regional Resources

Reconsidering Redevelopment: A Closer Look at Neighborhood-Based Economic Development in Los Angeles
By Public Counsel, 2012
This report was produced by Public Counsel and several neighborhood-based nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles with two goals in mind: (1) to reflect on what redevelopment investments have meant for selected neighborhoods in Los Angeles; and (2) to inform the creation of new economic development vehicles in Los Angeles.
Download the report

Growing Healthy in Southern California
By the American Lung Association in California
This new analysis quantifies the clean air and societal benefits that Southern Californians will experience through smart growth strategies that reduce the need to drive. It demonstrates that the region could avoid $16 billion in cumulative health and societal costs and thousands of asthma attacks and respiratory symptoms between now and 2035 through a 20 percent reduction in vehicle miles traveled.
Download the report
Link to press release

Quick Fact

Mixed-use communities designed around transit, walking and biking allow residents to breathe cleaner air and incorporate physical activity into their daily routines. Individuals who live in walkable neighborhoods have a 35% lower risk of obesity.

Materials from Training: “Embedding Health & Equity in the Regional Transportation Plan”
Health advocates, public health officers, and other stakeholders came together in 2011 to learn about ways to engage in SCAG’s Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. This webpage includes links to download the presentations given at the workshop, as well as materials that were developed as part of the training.
Link to webpage

Vision California: Southern California Regional Results
By Calthorpe Associates
This analysis assesses the economic, energy, health, and land impacts of different ways to accommodate Southern California’s expected growth. Scenarios were developed to reflect a range of land use choices, from a business-as-usual future based on past trends to more compact options, including those represented by the regional Blueprint plan.
Download the Regional Results Summary

Southern California Climate and Economic Development Project
The Southern California Association of Governments is working with its partner agencies, local business leaders, and technical experts from the region to identify a range of options to meet the region’s needs for equitable economic development, pollution reduction, housing and transportation planning.
Learn more here

Trends in Diabetes: A Reversible Public Health Crisis
By the County of Los Angeles Public Health Department
This report reveals that from 1997 to 2007, diabetes increased from 6.6% to 9.1% among all adults in Los Angeles County. Type 2 diabetes, which is primarily caused by obesity, accounts for over 90 percent of all diabetes cases in the county. This coincides with rising rates of obesity which increased from 14.3% to 22.2% (1997-2007) in adults.
Download Report

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What They’re Saying…

“As a real estate industry professional I believe that the state’s historic SB 375 smart growth law will help prevent future housing bubbles and collapses and drive the city-centered development that consumers want.” – Michael Dieden, CEO of Creative Housing Associates in Los Angeles