This Marin Voice Comes from David Newman, of San Francisco, is an intern for the Marin Environmental Housing Collective.
The history of environmental protection is Marin County’s defining pride. Outside narrow strips of development along the highways, rolling green hills rise and fall (mostly undisturbed by development) before meeting the brooding beauty of miles of untouched coastline.
Compare this image with the “concrete jungle” of San Francisco, and it seemingly only serves to prove that Marin is a rare ecological steward in the modern age. Yet, as green as the landscape appears, this impression is false: The development practices are fundamentally anti-environmental.
While protecting our open spaces is the right choice, Marin’s lack of reasonable housing density along our suburban corridors is not; it results in excess greenhouse gases pouring into the atmosphere and it pushes sprawl elsewhere. According to data presented by the Association of Bay Area Governments, Marin actually produces 40% more emissions per capita annually than San Francisco. In fact, there is no debate among scientists: One of the most effective ways cities can combat climate change is by increasing urban density.
Clearly, climate change is the environmental battle of our lifetimes. Millions of lives, countless coastal regions and an inconceivable number of species, as well as ecosystems, are on the line. While Marin doesn’t need to replicate San Francisco, it cannot consider itself pro-environmental while doing nothing. As a place that will face rising sea levels and increasingly common wildfires head-on, the answer is clear: It must build more homes.
Of the various climate impacts of sprawl, car usage is probably the most infamous. The longer distances between locations in Marin forces residents to drive. According to the ABAG study, Marin emits almost three times as much greenhouse gas per capita from surface transit as San Francisco. This is particularly true of those commuting into the county. Because Marin so severely lacks affordable housing (the median cost of a home in Marin is $1.7 million), over two-thirds of the workforce commutes. Moreover, the number of “supercommuters” – those who drive over 1.5 hours for work – increased by 71% between 2009 and 2017.
Building more affordable housing in Marin would decrease the number of commuters and make our towns more walkable to residents. One study from the University of Illinois found that doubling density in the average city would decrease per capita carbon emissions from residents traveling by about 50%.
READ THE FULL STORY VIA THE MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL HERE.
David Newman, of San Francisco, is an intern for the Marin Environmental Housing Collective.