MOUNTAIN VIEW — Silicon Valley Community Foundation has received a $300,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to launch an information campaign explaining the impact of land-use decisions on every day life.
The grant will help pay for “Envision Bay Area,” a project that will use the Internet, public radio, public television and community dialogues to help residents understand how land-use and transportation decisions affect the Bay Area’s environmental health.
Envision Bay Area also hopes to increase residents’ involvement in local, regional and state government decisions.
“Land-use planning is key to reducing traffic, preserving open space and providing affordable housing located near jobs,” said Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D., CEO and president of the community foundation. “With deliberate planning, we can reduce carbon emissions, create healthier communities for all residents and accommodate future growth.”
The grant requires the community foundation to raise $300,000 to match the Knight Foundation money. The community foundation expects to raise the required amount in the coming months. The grant is part of Knight Foundation’s Community Information Challenge, a five-year, $24 million effort to help community foundations find creative ways to use new media and technology to keep residents informed and engaged.
“Information is as important to a thriving democracy as clean air, jobs and schools. As leaders, local foundations are taking the initiative to meet those information needs,” said Trabian Shorters, Knight Foundation’s vice president for communities, who leads the challenge. “This project and others like it help ensure that everyone has the information necessary to make decisions about their governments and their lives.”
The community foundation plans to work with Greenbelt Alliance, the Bay Area’s leading advocate for open space, Transform, the leading nonprofit promoting sustainable transportation, and other partners. KQED will be the media partner.
“Good planning happens when people understand the benefits of good land use,” said Jeremy Madsen, executive director of Greenbelt Alliance. “Through this project, residents will be able to see what happens to air quality, for example, if they are able to walk from home to work.”
Using a series of "what if" scenarios and visualization tools, Envision Bay Area will provide residents with information showing how land use can affect clean air, water consumption, public health, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The tool will also offer residents information about land-use planning in their communities.
“We know that Bay Area residents in communities with great public transit can save more than $5,000 a year on transportation costs and cut emissions by 42 percent,’’ said Stuart Cohen, executive director of TransForm. “This tool will help us show a future in which more people can help cut pollution and save money on transit.”
About Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Silicon Valley Community Foundation is a catalyst and leader for innovative solutions to our region’s most challenging problems. Serving all of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the community foundation has more than $1.5 billion in assets under management and 1,500 philanthropic funds. The community foundation provides grants through donor advised and corporate funds in addition to its own Unrestricted Endowment Fund. The community foundation serves as a regional center for philanthropy, providing donors simple and effective ways to give locally and around the world. Find out more at www.siliconvalleycf.org
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote community engagement and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
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CONTACTS:
Rebecca Salner, Vice President, Marketing and Communications
650.450.5525 or rsalner@siliconvalleycf.org
Marc Fest, Vice President, Communications, Knight Foundation
305.908.2677 or fest@knightfoundation.org
