Op-Ed | It’s time to finally modernize the State Environmental Quality Review Act

If we’re going to be serious about climate, then we must ensure land use changes aren’t seen as just a narrow technical exercise but as an important tool for both climate action and racial justice. Exclusionary zoning rules that prevent dense, affordable and mixed-income housing from being built in certain neighborhoods is not just a housing problem; it is a climate problem. It is a climate – and moral – imperative that we allow more people to live in the neighborhoods that are well-connected to transit, have lower climate risk, and have access to parks and other social infrastructure that are not only critical during extreme weather events but also support social cohesion year round.