Rest in Power, Carl Anthony

Carl Anthony, founder and former Executive Director of Urban Habitat, passed away on April 4, 2026. Carl was a giant of the Environmental Justice Movement and a lifelong fighter for racial, social, economic, and regional equity. Nationally and internationally, he was a recognized writer and thinker who inspired a generation to understand the integral connections between the exploitation of poor people and people of color, and the degradation of our planet and its natural resources.

In his memoir, The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race, Carl challenged each of us to reconsider the relationship between the land, the region, and race. As he wrote:

“Our challenge is to refashion our social structures and our organization of space and infrastructure around the central ideal of maximizing justice and full-spectrum sustainability. The current era of development controlled by small groups of privileged elites seeking profit by using and discarding people and resources is nearing its end… We need to approach our regions as whole systems in order to dismantle the legacy of racism and environmental exploitation that currently afflicts them.”

That is the vision he had when he founded Urban Habitat, and it is a vision we remain committed to.

Many of you worked alongside Carl, helping shape Urban Habitat’s direction and its work in the world over the decades. To those of us who were honored to be mentored by him, he was sharp, funny, and quietly brilliant. His legacy endures in the communities he strengthened, the leaders he mentored, and the movements he helped build.

Our hearts are with Carl’s family, his friends, and his Beloved Community here in the Bay Area and everywhere his life touched. 

Rest in Power, Carl,

The Urban Habitat Family 

Links to Reflections on Carl Anthony’s Life and Impact

• Visit Carl’s memorial page
• Remembering Carl Anthony, architect who brought racial equity analysis to environmental movement – obituary in Berkeleyside
• Reflections from Don Chen, president of the Surdna Foundation
• Earth Day and Carl Anthony’s Legacy – reflections from Urban Habitat Director of Housing Justice, Chris Schildt