about REP-SF

Our Mission

The mission of Race & Equity in all Planning Coalition is to build a future in San Francisco with diverse communities, stable, affordable housing and equitable access to resources and opportunities.

Housing justice and equity in land use must be led by historically marginalized communities. We believe that American Indian, Black, and other Communities of color, immigrant, LGBTQ+, low-income and no-income folks, seniors, and people with disabilities should determine our futures.

We envision planning that puts the expertise of our communities at the forefront to solve issues of displacement, unaffordability, and inequality. We envision housing that we can afford, close to where we work, beautiful and culturally responsive design, and community and public land ownership. We envision new systems that prioritize the dignity, health, stability, and aspirations of our communities, and place the needs of the people over profit. We build collective power at a city planning level for housing justice and equity– for our communities now and generations to come!

REP-SF came together in August 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic hit people of color and low-income communities hard, and in the midst of providing for urgent needs, we found that we also had to continue fighting against the City’s ongoing push to increase profit-driven housing in our communities during a time of unprecedented instability. At a time when our communities were looking to the City for real leadership that truly centered our needs, business continued as usual— and we decided that it was time to find a new way to plan for our city.

Needing to change the City’s approach to planning and land use, REP-SF works proactively for Desegregation, Affordability, Culture & Arts, Stability and Sustainability (this is the DACSS solutions framework). San Francisco’s political priorities, bolstered by mainstream media, rely on trickle-down, profit-driven, market-based approaches which only result in increasingly expensive housing, and displacement. REP-SF works to create new systems that deliberately address all the components of DACSS to achieve equity for people of color, immigrants, people with low and no incomes, seniors and people with disabilities.

REP-SF’s Analysis of the Problems

Our communities have the right to self-determination. However, communities across San Francisco are constantly vulnerable to the pressures of displacement and removal as a result of both historical and current obstacles that prioritize profit over people.

We live with the debilitating legacies of Redevelopment, redlining, over-reliance on market-rate housing strategies, and discriminatory real estate practices institutionalized by city, state and federal governments. Today, these inequitable practices persist as policymakers continue to rely on solutions that only serve to uphold systems that create extreme inequality.

Those in power tell us that in order to address inequality and affordability, we must rely on market-based solutions that enable and incentivize profit-driven development. We’re told that in order to fund affordable housing, we must approve market rate development and rely on the goodwill of developers to provide housing at a price that we can afford. As a result, our communities continue to suffer from escalating housing prices, instability and displacement.

To achieve true equity, marginalized groups must lead land use decisions that affect their communities.

What is Planning?

Planning involves the design of our cities and neighborhoods, determining how we prioritize the uses for our land. Visionary planning means orienting land use policies toward fundamentally improving the way people live. Planning can build much more than buildings. It can establish infrastructures to: Reduce inequality, House the homeless, Grow food that feeds communities and creates jobs, Protect housing for housing and prevent against demolitions, Prioritize affordable housing, and Ensure equitable infrastructure.

However, considering who gets the power to control these decisions over how our neighborhoods are shaped is critical in creating cities that are truly equitable, diverse, and stable.

Spotlight on REP-SF Citywide People’s Plan for Affordable Housing & Equity in Land Use: Voices of the Community Radio Show & Podcast

We’re thrilled to share REP-SF’s feature on the Voices of the Community Radio Show and Podcast hosted by George Koster! REP members Dyan Ruiz of People Power Media and Erick Arguello of Calle 24 Latino Cultural District discuss the intersection of arts, culture, and housing justice – and REP-SF’s Citywide People’s Plan for affordable housing and equity in land use.

Read our press release to learn more.