Salgu Wissmath / Capital Public Radio A neighborhood in North Stockton is lined with trees. “Across the board, communities of color and the poor are who will be impacted first.” “You can't have climate equity without having racial equity,” she said. The entire community of southwest Stockton ranks in the top 5% of the most disadvantaged in the state. Investing in areas where the poor and Black and Brown people live will make life better for all Stocktonians, said Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, a longtime environmental advocate and Stockton resident. “Don't you want some shade? Don’t you want to breathe clean air?” “It’s not this abstract notion of a tree, but a direct notion of, ‘Ain't you hot?’” Tubbs said.
This all starts with bringing investments into hot, mostly treeless barrios like south Stockton, where Tubbs grew up. Tubbs wants to get people to see environmental needs as basic needs so they can save the environment without having to think about it. Tubbs hasn’t let those attitudes prevent him from moving forward because he feels that investing in Stockton’s most vulnerable is a cause too important to sidetrack. His leadership in the city’s transformation has garnered national acclaim - this summer an HBO documentary debuted about his work - but his public persona and progressive values has stirred resentment among some conservative residents. “I want Stockton to be the community that shows what a Green New Deal looks like in terms of tangible benefits,” said Mayor Michael Tubbs, who became Stockton’s youngest and first African American mayor in 2016. Salgu Wissmath / Capital Public Radio Mayor Michael Tubbs poses for a portrait in his office at city hall in Stockton, Calif. The program’s success brought in more donations, allowing it to continue through January 2021, after which it will be reassessed. People used the money for everything from prom dresses to dentures, but mostly used it for food. In 2019, 125 randomly selected residents were given $500 monthly. Nearly a decade later, the city is slowly rising like a phoenix out of the ashes.īesides investing in their downtown, the city’s leaders partnered with a local nonprofit, the Economic Security Project, to raise funds for a universal basic income pilot program. In 2012, Stockton had reached its end of the road and was forced into bankruptcy. People want to take this city and turn it into an oasis of joy. The dollars came through her group's Transformative Climate Communities program. “Stockton is an excellent example of where they have really strong leadership coming out of the mayor's office, and they have incredible partnership and collaboration,” said Louise Bedsworth, executive director of the California Strategic Growth Council. For a city that’s struggled with violence and equity issues for decades, climate justice is the next level of social justice. More than three years of community engagement meetings put Stockton at the leading edge of change in California. The grant came about because of a “for us, by us” mentality among residents and city leaders. In the latest census, Stockton’s racial makeup was 42% Hispanic, 21% Asian, 21% white, 11% Black and less than 1% native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The funds will also support creating green jobs, increasing household solar panels, planting trees and teaching urban farming in schools.įor the community, this investment is about ensuring climate solutions are equitable for all the city’s residents. The grant will help finance a walkable and bikeable downtown.
Residents banded together to win a $10.8 million state grant this year that will help their city adapt sustainably to rising temperatures. Work to mitigate the looming effects of climate change - droughts, heat waves and floods - is unifying Stockton. To the casual passerby, Stockton’s vibe might still feel stagnant, but look more deeply and one can see that this city is being reborn. The region is often derided as the armpit of California because of its extreme temperatures, historic divestment in low-income neighborhoods, and a long history of violence and police brutality. Stockton is a port city on the edge of the Sacramento Delta, 80 miles east of San Francisco. Reviving Brandon isn't an option, but Harrison is part of a movement to bring life back to her hometown of more than 300,000.
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