In October 2023, the City of San Francisco’s Balboa Park Neighborhood held a ribbon cutting for 131 new affordable homes adjacent to the Balboa Park Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station, known as Kapuso at the Upper Yard. These homes were built thanks to
$29.9 million from SGC’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC), in its fifth round of funding. The AHSC program funds the construction of affordable housing near transit as a key strategy to reduce GHG emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled, and Kapuso at the Upper Yard is a key example of the need for this work.
Adapting to the Rising Tides
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
With support from Climate Resilience Program, the Adapting to Rising Tides project at the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission is providing research, guidance, tools, and staff support to help Bay Area agencies and organizations understand, communicate, and begin to resolve complex climate change issues.
Collecting Air Quality Data to Improve Community Health in Eastern San Francisco
Brightline Defense, an environmental justice nonprofit organization, was awarded $300,000 from the Community Air Grants program to support the Brightline Air Quality Monitoring Program. This community-driven program that will install, collect, and analyze data from 15 stationary air quality sensors in heavily populated, low-income communities throughout Eastern San Francisco. The data these sensors collect are publicly available and can be used to help shape programs and policies to create cleaner air in these communities.
Water Energy Grants Provide Direct Benefits to Low-Income Households in Rural Counties
The Association of California Community and Energy Services partner agencies replaced 1,090 washing machines and 855 dishwashers with water- and energy-efficient machines . These energy and water savings will continuously provide cost savings across various communities in Kern, Madera, Contra Costa, Kings, San Francisco, and Merced counties and other low-income homes in San Mateo, Shasta, and Tehama counties.
Bringing Electrification and Energy Efficiency to Low-income San Francisco Communities
The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation’s (TNDC) commitment to help San Francisco’s low‑income communities thrive by building affordable housing was energized by an electrification project at its SOMA Studio and Family Apartments (SOMA Apartments) in 2020. The effort is supported by a $633,000 award from California Climate Investments through the Department of Community Services and Development’s Low Income Weatherization Program’s (LIWP) Multi‑Family component. With that money and contributions from other local energy efficiency programs, TNDC kept utility bills low for residents while electrifying major central building systems and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Built in 2003, the SOMA Apartments include 162 homes with more than 60 percent of its households classified as extremely low‑income (earning less than 30 percent of the area median income).
Replate, Inc. Matches Surplus Food with Communities in Need
Electrifying Caltrain
Caltrain, the seventh-largest commuter rail agency in the nation, is undergoing a major transformation by electrifying the railroad to provide cleaner, quieter, and more efficient service. In 2018, Caltrain received a grant from California Climate Investments through the Transit and Intercity Capital Rail Program, allowing the agency to expand the new electric train fleet from 16 six‑car trainsets to 19 seven‑car trainsets. This greatly expands both the capacity and the potential frequency of the soon‑to‑be‑electrified rail service.