Introduction Climate, public health and racial justice crises have compounded and impacted San Franciscans in rapidly evolving ways. Due in no small part to past decisions, these compounding crises have a profound effect on San Francisco, which, as a leader in climate action, has the responsibility to urgently address the three crises together.
Three Overlapping Crises The primary way we travel in San Francisco has been directly damaging the Bay Area environment. Cars and trucks emit the largest share of San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions, and our reliance on them is fueling the climate crisis and harming our health. The fact that so many of us choose to drive when we have other options available is a significant driver of the heat waves, drought, wildfires and air pollution Californians have become all too familiar with. These extreme climate events degrade public health and increase the incidence of illnesses such as asthma. Their impacts are felt most strongly in communities of color which, because of centuries of oppression and disinvestment toward American Indian, Black, Latinx and other communities of color, have worse air quality and fewer transportation options. We have to find another way.
The kind of shift our city needs—to get most of our residents using low-carbon modes of transportation— is not going to be easy. San Francisco was designed around car travel, and in California, cars are ingrained in our culture. In some communities, having a car is seen as a rite of passage into adulthood. In others, cars are a way of expressing one’s personal identity. In others, they’re a means of cultural expression. It’s also the reality that not everyone in San Francisco has the means or ability to leave the use of personal vehicles entirely. Some people with disabilities, older adults and people who have more complex travel needs that involve transporting children and goods will still need to use cars, at least for some of their trips.
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