San Francisco Planning Introduces the Community Equity Advisory Council

San Francisco Planning would like to introduce the San Francisco Community Equity Advisory Council, a newly formed advisory body to the Department on race and social equity. The Equity Council is a group of eleven San Francisco community leaders. Through thoughtful and collaborative deliberations, they are advising City staff on strategic policies, strategies and investments, and elevating the voices of our diverse communities in City decisions. 

Racial and social inequities have long been part of the intrinsic make up of our country and have deep-seated roots in the laws, policies, and ordinances we’ve passed throughout history. Like many cities across the country, San Francisco has had its share of racially discriminatory practices that have barred American Indian, Black, and other low-income communities of color from sharing in Equity.

The City is now in the midst of a major shift toward a more just and equitable future for every community member. In 2020, San Francisco Planning Commission and Historic Preservation Commission adopted resolutions centering the Planning Department’s work program on Racial and Social Equity. Part of this effort is to address and identify ways to correct the planning and land use practices that perpetuated racial inequities and displaced American Indian and Black communities and other communities of color. 

This Equity Council represents the voices of diverse communities in the City and will advise staff on racial and social equity work addressing the current crisis and resolving historic inequities. The Department selected members that have the trust, guidance, and access to the communities that they represent. The Department ensured that vulnerable neighborhoods are included because in planning for the future of SF, it is crucial that the Department center’s its work around the voices that matter most: the voices of those in our communities.

The Equity Council will guide the Department in dialogues towards productive relationships with communities of color, low-income communities, and other vulnerable populations. They will also aid in providing a path of communication during the current health crisis, which has placed high pressure on communities of color and constrained their time and space for dialogue. 

With the Community Equity Advisory Council’s guidance, San Francisco Planning is committed to build equitable engagement processes and deliver plans and policies that create inclusive neighborhoods that provide our American Indian communities, Black communities and other communities of color the opportunity to lead healthy and prosperous lives in San Francisco.