Los Angeles City Planning Launches Environmental Justice Policy Program

Los Angeles City Planning Aug. 22 initiated the environmental justice policy program, which is a comprehensive effort to centralize and strengthen environmental justice policies in the city’s general plan. The general plan describes policy goals and objectives that inform land use decisions, and ultimately shape and guide the physical development of the city. 

As part of the program, city planning anticipates updating the health element, also called “The Plan for a Healthy Los Angeles,” and the air quality element of the general plan. Other changes include making targeted updates to the open space element, and the creation of a new environmental justice element or chapter in the health element. 

A recently completed health element progress report provides the status of the existing health element programs. This report will inform additional environmental justice policies and programming as part of the environmental justice policy program.

In addition to the environmental justice policy program, the department is set to launch a climate vulnerability assessment or CVA in partnership with the emergency management department and the climate emergency mobilization office. The CVA will help identify the city’s communities that are most vulnerable to climate change and will ensure that climate equity is a priority in future climate planning efforts.