As mentioned earlier, the draft City of Sacramento 2040 General Plan has been released. For transportation advocates, the two most important chapters are Chapter 3: Land Use and Placemaking and Chapter 8: Mobility. Land use and transportation are so closely tied that I’m a little confused at to why the city separated them into separate chapters. Though the text which introduces each chapter (element), and each Goal and Policy section within the chapter, often refers to other parts of the plan, it seems to me that they were written independently and linked after the fact.

Element 3, Land Use and Placemaking, has the following sections:

• Land Use Framework
• Integrating Infill Development
• Thriving Commercial Mixed-Use Centers
• Complete and Inclusive Neighborhoods
• Industrial Areas
• Placemaking, Green Building, and the Arts

Element 8, Mobility, has the following sections:

• A Multimodal System
• Reduced Reliance on Single-Occupant Vehicles
• Safety
• Regional Connectivity
• Supporting Goals through Data, Technology, and Innovation

There are a number of organizations taking deeper dives into the General Plan draft, and I encourage you to join one of them:

• Strong Sac Town
• 350 Sacramento
• ECOS
• there are not doubt others; ask your organization what it is doing

Or, if you have the time, do your own deep dive. Of maybe transportation and land use are not your focus, there are seven other areas that may interested you.

Though the General Plan is not really a legally binding document, it is a tool that advocates can use when asking the city ‘why aren’t you doing this?’ or ‘why are you doing this?’. So it is important that the final plan reflect the desires of the citizens, and the reality of climate change and lack of equity.

You can expect more posts on the General Plan, as I have time to look into the details.