Implement - Build It Green

Regenerative Communities Program

We believe the people most suited to make a place better are the people of that place — who hold deep relationships of care and connection to both the history and the potential. Those folks might be long-time residents or recent but passionate transplants, and may have enthusiasm, energy and hope to make positive change but need support from others — trained professionals, organizers, funders, local government officials — to see their hopes for what the places they call home could be. We saw the potential to connect deeply rooted efforts in communities across California to each other, providing a scaffold of support to build their capacity to realize their efforts to help their communities thrive.

This program grew out of an effort sparked by members of our Innovators Network. At our 2022 Gathering, we identified the potential for rural communities to be testbeds of innovation, particularly those facing the challenges, and opportunities, of rebuilding after major devastation. In this case, one member came from the town of Greenville which was severely damaged in the Dixie Fire July to October 2021.

From our work in Greenville, we realized there was huge potential to support other communities doing this kind of work — helping bridge the gap from where they were to what could be. In particular, helping them learn the mindsets and approaches that would help their aspirations take real root to grow into more regenerative communities.

2024 Learning Cohort

In 2024 we are offering our first Learning Cohort. Over a six month period, cohort members attend monthly sessions with one another to learn about regenerative practices and principles, build their capacity to affect needed on-the-ground change, learn practical tools and frameworks to more deeply engage their communities, and connect to others on similar journeys. All of these lessons will be applied to specific projects cohort participants are grappling with, so they can be immediately applied to real world work.

We also offer coaching to teams in regional areas, to work through specific needs for their individual contexts and help them apply what we learn in our group sessions to their work. We strive to be regenerative in the design of the program itself, thinking about the needs of individuals, the group, and the larger change we’re seeking to affect. To support this, we gather feedback after every engagement and incorporate that into the next round of design.

Small Housing Developer And Municipal Practitioner Development Program

The development of small-scale housing projects (such as townhomes, small-plexes, and ADUs) in infill areas within existing cities, by small, independent developers can help mitigate both the housing affordability and climate change crises. This program is intended to catalyze emerging or start-up small-scale developers, or individuals interested in entering the industry, by providing them the tools and resources necessary to carry out development projects. It will be focused on small developers and government officials working in Alameda County communities in order to spark a cross-sector cohort that can continue to collaborate after the initial sessions.

The initial phase of the program will offer two in-person convenings in late 2024 and early 2025 to kick off the professional development of start-up and emerging developers in Alameda County. Program design will be informed by an advisory local host committee made up of folks currently working on development projects and programs and others in the county. The second convening will be a full day workshop, with content informed by the initial convening’s facilitated dialogue. The goal is to guide small developers and government officials on how to effectively work with each other and contribute to the building of regenerative, equitable communities. Session participants will get an overview of what incremental development is—the approach, the practice and its application to common building types and neighborhoods.

This work is funded by StopWaste, and designed and facilitated in close collaboration with the PLACE Initiative and The Incremental Development Alliance.

This is a parallel project to one in development in the Sacramento area, with the City of Sacramento as a partner, partially supported by our Innovation Fund. This parallel project will give us an opportunity to share lessons learned between the two geographic cohorts to inform future offerings.

Infrastructure for Equitable Housing Development Program

Infrastructure across California needs repair; water and wastewater alone need 50 billion dollars in funding to maintain basic functioning. California also needs to build 3.5 million homes in the next 10 years. These two issues are directly related. Affordable housing development where water infrastructure is in the worst condition is likely the place where new housing is least likely to “pencil out,” due to the costs of improvements, as well as the additional time and uncertainty infrastructure upgrades might require.

BIG and PRE Collective conducted research that confirmed this pressing issue. We recognized the pivotal role developers, public officials and funders have in supporting place-based, community-led, and community-centered work to address this challenge. We are exploring how to develop public-private partnerships to proactively plan for, improve and develop infrastructure to enable critical housing development, especially in historically and currently underinvested communities.

We are building relationships with communities, like the City of Sacramento, and in partnership with work in our other programs, like the Regenerative Communities Program (see above) to prepare them for this work. BIG is leading capability development, community preparation and coordination activities, and PRE Collective is looking at innovative ways to get existing infrastructure spending more effectively directed towards community-centered and driven infrastructure development, rather than traditional utility-scale development that doesn’t consider the regenerative and equity opportunities.