AMBAG's 2035 Regional Blueprint

AMBAG Planner Linda Meckel will speak at our next breakfast Friday, Aug 20 in Salinas (click here for more info or to register).

Here are some details on her topic, AMBAG's 2035 Regional Blueprint:

Over the next 25 years, the Monterey Bay Area's population will increase by 20% and age considerably. Under current growth patterns, the population will become more geographically disparate. With future housing located further from where the jobs will be, commuters will be ever more dependent on driving, usually alone, to work. Congestion will worsen, and taking alternative ways of travel-bus, bike or walking-will be more difficult and dangerous, and more expensive, for all of us as drivers and as taxpayers. Greenhouse gas emissions will increase and there will be unsustainable demands on limited water resources.

The 2035 Monterey Bay Area Regional Blueprint: Envisioning the Monterey Bay Area will generate a regional vision and practical strategies to ensure a more promising future for the Monterey Bay Area. Collectively, we will determine how population and employment growth can be shaped by local communities to improve our quality of life and minimize the negative impacts of growth.

Specifically, Envisioning the Monterey Bay Area addresses the following:

• Proposed regional challenges in 2035
• Potential Solutions (Scenarios)
• A toolbox for actions thru 2035

The Blueprint Survey v2.0 is a follow up to the Blueprint Survey v1.0 that was presented at seven workshops around Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties during May and June of 2010. This interactive survey will help provide input for Envisioning the Monterey Bay Area: the 2035 Regional Blueprint. This plan will be the basis for the 2012 Sustainable Community Strategy that will help the Monterey Bay Area achieve the regional greenhouse gas targets set by the California Air Resources Board.