RED Project

Richmond Equity Demonstration Initiative (REDI)

Initiated in 2003 through a grant from the Ford Foundation, this four-year project aims to build sustainable and equitable communities by influencing the patterns of metropolitan development in ways that promote ecological sustainability and decrease the cultural, social, economic, political, and spatial isolation of poor people. The Richmond Equity Demonstration Initiative draws together a number of partners addressing multiple sector issues to demonstrate the power of a collaborative and regional equity approach to community development in distressed inner cities and suburbs. It also explores implementation of specific strategies for on-the-ground sustainable and equitable development. The partners envision a community where every resident has access to quality education, where urban revitalization provides opportunities for local businesses to thrive, where "community planning" development puts existing residents' needs first, and where local policies are part of a regional plan for achieving an equitable and sustainable Bay Area. The San Francisco Foundation is working with community partners in Richmond to design the multiple stages of the REDI and to continue with on-the-ground work to affect social justice changes based on development efforts that demonstrate regional approaches to urban revitalization.