How TransForm Fights Climate Change

Experts Agree: TransForm is a Leader in Fighting Climate Change

TransForm’s work for world-class public transportation and walkable communities fights climate change in powerful ways.

In fact, Philanthropedia’s 97 climate change experts recently identified TransForm as one of the leading climate change-related nonprofits in the Bay Area!

It makes sense.  Transportation is the #1 source of greenhouse gas emissions in the Bay Area, which means we can’t fight climate change without getting more people to drive less (especially as our population keeps growing).   

TransForm has won literally billions of dollars and groundbreaking policies in support of public transportation, smart growth, affordable housing, and bicycle/pedestrian safety. 

Now TransForm leads the way in creating more convenient, thriving places in the Bay Area and California where it is easier for everyone to walk, bike, carpool, and take public transportation for more trips – plus inspiring more to do so.   

Give today to TransForm and together we can make the Bay Area a model fighting in climate change!

How TransForm Fights Climate Change

GreenTRIP certifies new residential and mixed-use developments that keep the number of new parking spaces as low as possible and offer incentives for new tenants to drive less (such as free or discounted transit passes).  Climate impact: cities and developers are incentivized to build developments that create less driving and emissions, plus local zoning is changed to support this.

The Safe Routes to Schools Alameda County Partnership, led byTransForm, works in 70 public schools to get tens of thousands of kids walking and biking safely to school more often.  Climate impact: emissions drop as dramatically fewer parents drive their kids to and from school, plus thousands of kids establish lifelong climate-friendly transportation habits.

TransForm’s regional advocacy work constantly pushes the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission to prioritize funds for public transportation, pedestrian/bicycling improvements, smart growth, and affordable homes.  TransForm recently advocated for and won $80 million for a first-in-the-nation regional climate grants program that will fund innovative ways to reduce driving. 

Now we’re working to ensure that the Bay Area is assigned an ambitious transportation-related greenhouse gas reduction target and then makes bold transportation and land use changes to meet that target.  Climate impact: emissions plummet as: innovative and effective ways to reduce driving are spread quickly throughout the Bay Area; the transportation system as a whole strongly supports alternatives to driving; and new development creates walkable communities rather than car-centered sprawl.

TransForm's state advocacy work focuses on restoring and protecting state public transportation funding, which has been decimated in recent years.  We now have a Sacramento office to ensure legislators stand up for public transportation as a way to fight climate change.  Climate impact: California cuts emissions with hundreds of thousands more trips on public transportation as agencies reverse recent service cuts and keep transit running strong with fares affordable to all.

The Great Communities Collaborative, coordinated by TransForm, engages people – particularly low-income people and people of color – in local land use planning processes in dozens of neighborhoods near public transportation across the Bay Area.  When people play a central role in shaping the future of where they live, new development brings things residents want (like more affordable homes, parks, and grocery stores) and makes places near public transportation thrive. Climate impact: huge and lasting emissions reductions are achieved as thousands more people live in walkable communities near public transportation region-wide.

ClimatePlan, which TransForm co-founded and provides programmatic support for, is a coalition of environmental, social justice, and public health organizations from across California working together to ensure better land use and transportation choices are at the heart of how the State meets emission reduction goals.  Climate impact: up to 11 million metric tons of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere per year in California when each region implements sweeping, integrated changes to land use and transportation in order to meet tough emissions targets.

The Transportation For America campaign, which TransForm coordinates in California, is working to ensure that federal legislation puts tens of billions of dollars towards public transportation, bicycle/pedestrian improvements, smart growth, and keeping our roads and bridges in better shape.  Climate impact: huge emissions reductions across the country as hundreds of thousands of people have better transportation options.