Why connecting people is central to investable communities.

Learn how we brought residents of San Leandro together to develop a shared vision, a first and critical step in organizing demand for available public and private investment.

Read the case study

How San Leandro developed a shared vision to accelerate community-led climate solutions.

People Place Consulting worked with the community of San Leandro to develop a shared understanding of their goals and develop a set of projects to achieve those goals - necessary precursors to attracting investment. With little civic infrastructure, that is, activation of residents or community based organizations, our team started from the bottom up - thinking outside the box to engage residents and build trust over time.

OUR APPROACH

1

Create community spaces where they don’t exist

Across a multi-year outreach effort, residents commented on the lack of community gathering spaces in their neighborhoods, with a community needs assessment confirming the lack of shared spaces across San Leandro. Recognizing the need to strengthen community cohesion and a shared identity, we partnered with a local church to develop a community garden, where year-round programming is hosted and where residents can connect within a trusted community space.

Meet residents where they are

With families busy with multiple jobs, caretaking, and other day-to-day commitments, our strategy started with meeting residents where they already gather. We built relationships with people at community centers, houses of worship, and local businesses— while also attending public events like farmer’s markets and festivals.

2

Develop culturally attuned communications

Having the ability to adapt to the diversity and the cultural contexts of our clients’ communities is critical. Working with cultural brokers, including multi-lingual paid staff and volunteers, and partnering with a Spanish and indigenous community-based organization, we worked to incorporate culturally and linguistically competent communications materials to approach our intended audience and their values, beliefs, and practices with respect.

4

Provide ongoing support to neighborhood leaders

Rather than simply seeking feedback or hosting one-way conversations, building community capacity and power to gain greater control over the factors that affect their lives is critical. Together with the City of San Leandro, we developed a Neighborhood Leadership Committee to create opportunities for communities to contribute their knowledge and center them in decision-making.

3

Outcomes

How we helped San Leandro residents build a shared vision and portfolio of community-created climate projects:

  • Collected over a 1,000 unique pieces of feedback from residents, business owners, and city employees.

  • Developed Neighborhood Action Plan and a series of project concepts aligned with San Leandro’s climate goals and available state investment.

  • Created a community garden where year-round programs and trainings are offered, and where residents can build relationships with one another.

  • Partnered with a local community-based organization, El Timpano, to better engage with San Leandro’s Spanish speaking community through text banking and in-language events.

  • Created a Neighborhood Leadership Committee, bringing together resident leaders from unrepresented neighborhoods and compensating them for their participation in training, meetings, and other opportunities to build capacity for resident-led transformation.

  • Launched a digital and print campaign ‘Community-Led Climate Solutions’ to build awareness around disparate air quality issues in San Leandro and highlight unrepresented communities taking action to address climate change.