Fresno is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Rapid growth and suburbanization over the past decades have led to disinvestment in its downtown, increasing auto use and dependence, and significant water supply, energy, and public health challenges. With an expected addition of one million people to Fresno County by 2050, the City of Fresno needed to devise a plan for its Southeast Growth Area (SEGA) that would accommodate high population growth and demand for more diverse and affordable housing choices, while helping Fresno meet the ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets mandated under California’s State Assembly Bill 32.
Calthorpe Analytics worked with the City of Fresno to design, measure, and communicate varying scenarios and outcomes to inform the Southeast Growth Area Specific Plan. Through extensive public outreach and comparative scenario design, the Fresno community and its stakeholders were empowered with an understanding of the environmental, fiscal, and health impacts brought about by its current development pattern.
The SEGA Specific Plan creates a model comprehensive blueprint for future growth in Fresno and the Central Valley by illustrating how compact transit-oriented land use focused on the pedestrian and community can protect valuable agricultural land, spur broad-based economic development, and make judicious use of limited infrastructure dollars.
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