Build Power

Build Power

We cultivate leaders, help build movement infrastructure and mobilize coalitions

Cultivate Leaders

Low-income communities of color continue to be left out of planning and policy decisions and as a result, are most negatively impacted by these decisions. Urban Habitat’s leadership development programs address systemic inequities by providing these communities with the skills, knowledge, and networks to access decision-making positions and become more effective advocates.

Members of the BCLI class of 2013

Members of the BCLI class of 2013

Mobilize Coalitions + Build Movement Infrastructure

We convene regional and multi-jurisdictional networks to advance equitable land use, transportation, and housing policies, and democratize power in the suburbs by building movement infrastructure. Through these formations, we provide technical support to community organizations and expertise in landscape analysis and strategy development, with particular attention in the outer regions where organizing and advocacy capacity has lagged behind the growth of low-income people of color in those areas.

Current Coalitions

6 Wins for Social Equity Network

Six Wins ensures that regional planning decisions and investments is shaped by the voices and needs of those most impacted and advocates on the following 6 issue areas: affordable housing, investment without displacement, transportation justice, quality jobs, and healthy communities.

Voices for Public Transportation

Voices for Public Transportation

VPT members came together to advance a game-changing regional transportation measure to invest in our transit system so that all Bay Area residents can get around affordably and easily while reducing driving and greenhouse gas emissions.

Vallejo Housing Justice Coalition - Strawberry Hill

Vallejo Housing Justice Coalition

VHJC prioritizes and amplifies the voices of the communities most directly impacted by harmful housing policies that have displaced and uprooted families, especially low-income families, immigrants, and people of color.

The People’s Land and Housing Alliance

In 2017, Urban Habitat and several allied organizations launched the People’s Land and Housing Alliance (PLHA) to coordinate efforts to advocate for and implement community-based solutions across the Bay Area.

Aerial view of San Mateo Bridge, connecting the Peninsula and East Bay; residential areas of Foster City visible in the foreground

San Mateo Anti-Displacement Coalition

The San Mateo Anti-Displacement Coalition (SMADC) provides a space for a diverse set of organizations to work together to protect San Mateo County’s low-income communities of color from being displaced.