Inclusive Planning - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 2: Inclusive Planning

Barrier Statement

Authentic community resilience is hindered by shallow, inequitable engagement processes that exclude marginalized, tribal and rural communities, devalue Indigenous and lived knowledge, and fail to build trust, safety, and long-term collaboration across government and community.

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How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

Engagement processes lack trust, depth, and authentic relationship-building, resulting in tokenistic representation and the devaluation of lived and Indigenous knowledge. Shallow, one-off engagement, historic harms, misrepresentation of community voices, and limited acknowledgment of cultural differences undermine meaningful participation. These patterns exclude marginalized communities, weaken social cohesion, and diminish recognition of Indigenous peoples’ ongoing presence, practices, and rights.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

Structural, geographic, cultural, and logistical barriers exclude marginalized, Tribal, immigrant, rural, and unhoused communities from meaningful participation. Timelines that don’t match community realities, limited translation and interpretation, lack of childcare and food support, digital-access inequities, and inadequate trauma-informed practices all restrict who can participate—and how safely. These barriers intersect with cultural erasure, cross-border and rural isolation, and the failure to honor Tribal data sovereignty or Indigenous land rights, preventing authentic involvement in climate and resilience planning.

Key challenge discussed in - San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

Indigenous knowledge, leadership, and cultural practices are marginalized and insufficiently integrated into climate-resilience planning. Traditional ecological knowledge, cultural burning, and community-defined stewardship practices are often sidelined, extracted, or applied without Indigenous leadership guiding the process. This erodes trust, diminishes the legitimacy of climate strategies, and undermines recognition of Indigenous sovereignty, expertise, and ongoing presence.

Key challenge discussed in - San Diego

Erosion of Trust, Safety, and Long-Term Commitment: Communities expressed that competitive funding structures pit groups against each other, weakening collaboration and reinforcing mistrust. In neighborhoods with generational disinvestment, residents have little faith that engagement will translate into meaningful action, which suppresses participation. Fear of law enforcement, intimidation, and violence — particularly among undocumented residents — prevents safe civic participation and deepens distrust of public processes.

Key challenge discussed in - San Diego

Breakdowns in communication across government levels: Community organizations, local governments, and state agencies often communicate in silos, creating gaps in information flow that limit collaborative climate action

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Create inclusive, multi-level governance structures that elevate frontline, Indigenous, youth, and renter leadership while aligning local, regional, and state agencies to reduce siloed communication and share power in resilience decision-making: This includes establishing standing advisory bodies, community steering groups, and regional coordination tables where CBOs, Tribes, and local governments collaborate with state and regional agencies on climate-resilience strategies.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

Local Solution

Integrate Indigenous leadership, stewardship practices, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge into regional and local resilience planning through long-term, compensated partnerships. Tribal leaders should guide planning processes, and Indigenous practices—such as cultural burning, land stewardship, and community-defined knowledge systems—should be applied authentically rather than used symbolically or extractively.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

Local Solution

Acknowledge and respect cultural differences – Local governments and organizations should intentionally integrate cultural diversity across the region into engagement processes, ensuring differences are recognized as assets rather than barriers.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Diego

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Fund multi-year, flexible engagement efforts that recognize relationship-building as essential work—covering community stipends, access supports, and the sustained time and resources needed to build trust with frontline, Indigenous, rural, and immigrant communities.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

State Solution

Resource and strengthen trusted-messenger networks at both state and local levels—providing multilingual outreach tools, hybrid/in-person communication channels, and long-term partnerships with trusted community navigators and CBOs—to ensure climate engagement is culturally rooted, non-extractive, and accessible to all residents.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Climate Science Alliance is an organization facilitating collaborative, community-based climate initiatives in the San Diego region. Their work was presented as a trusted convener and connector between local communities, tribes, and scientific partners.

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego

State Solution

Integrate Indigenous leadership and TEK – Mandate that Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and tribal leadership guide state planning processes, ensuring Indigenous knowledge is not siloed or extracted without context.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Diego

Solution Spotlight

Climate Science Alliance is an organization facilitating collaborative, community-based climate initiatives in the San Diego region. Their work was presented as a trusted convener and connector between local communities, tribes, and scientific partners.

Wellspring Consortium – A bioregional collaborative planning model focused on integrating ecological and cultural priorities in climate crisis response

Tippe Hua’s work to secure indigenous access to preserved areas for cultural practices

Johnny Bear described creating a project about lightning/shaluk and waterways, which ties into Kumeyaay family orientation and cultural knowledge. The emphasis was on storytelling and cultural education as a method to reintroduce traditional ecological knowledge into contemporary community contexts.

Groundwork San Diego’s Resident Empowerment Training in traditional ecological knowledge, blue-green infrastructure, and neighborhood-scale planning. The training involved 25 residents, who learned technical and cultural approaches and then developed climate-safe neighborhood concept plans.

Cultural signage (Hear Our Names project) – Signs in Kumeyaay, Spanish, and English connect communities with landscapes through Indigenous language and cultural recognition

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Additional Resources

Please share any additional resources you would like to include by emailing eecoordinator@civicwell.org.