UH history

National environmental leaders Carl Anthony, Karl Linn and David Brower founded the Urban Habitat Program (UHP) in 1989. Over our 16 year history, Urban Habitat has played a central role in efforts to develop a regional approach to social equity in Bay Area land use. We have documented and built an analysis of the impacts of suburban sprawl on urban communities of color and the inner ring suburbs and lead efforts to build a diverse constituency to change land use policies that lead to inequitable development.

In 2001, Urban Habitat underwent major organizational transition, with the departure of co-founder and former Executive Director, Carl Anthony.

In early November 2001 under the leadership of Juliet Ellis, Urban Habitat recruited and developed an active Advisory Board; grew from a staff of one to a team of seven; relocated our offices; expanded our Leadership Institute; reestablished the Social Equity Caucus; published and released an issue of our journal Race, Poverty, and the Environment; and completed a strategic planning process.  That year Juliet Ellis was listed as one of the up and coming leaders under 30 by Ebony magazine.

In addition to those accomplishments in 2002 over the past two years we have accomplished the following:

• The TJWG a working group of the Social Equity Caucus helped mobilize a broad multi-sector coalition that succeeded in convincing state legislators and the Governor to stop a $20 million annual cut to AC Transit.
• The TJWG advocated at Metropolitan Transportation Commission hearings to fund the Lifeline Program of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Lifeline Program is targeted to address the needs of low-income communities of color. The RTP now allocates over $200 million to support the priorities of Lifeline.
• Urban Habitat was one of the organizations that worked to get San Francisco County to adopt a Precautionary Principle Ordinance. This do no harm approach is being implemented as part of the County and City’s purchasing agreements.
• Urban Habitat staffed the No on Proposition 54 Taskforce.   Proposition 54 a state-wide initiative, which would have eliminated the ability to gather any data based on race on ethnicity, was defeated October 2003.
• Over the past three years Urban Habitat has trained over 200 leaders through our Leadership Institute. Graduates have gone on to run for City Council, get appointed to Advisory Committees of the MTC, and been able to launch a renter right’s campaign.
• In September 2004, Urban Habitat became its own 501(c)3. Previously, it had operated with a fiscal sponsor.
• Urban Habitat in partnership with two other organizations was able to get the “first source” hiring program reauthorized by the Richmond City Council. Over the next six moths we will work with a program committee of the city council to strengthen the impact of the ordinance to reach more local residents.
• Urban Habitat in partnership with the Center of Tolerance, Justice, and Community created a comprehensive preparation process and supported the travel of 14 members of the SEC to participate in the WSF. Central components of our preparation process included holding a summit with groups who have successfully linked their work to a global analysis and  developing an accessible report titled, “The Big ‘G’ Word: What’s Globalization got to do with the SEC?”
• Urban Habitat recently published “How Did We Get Here? A Regional History of the Bay Area.” It is a 28-page, full color, comic book depicting the struggles for social justice in the Bay Area.
• Juliet Ellis received a Gerbode Foundation fellowship in 2005.