News

SCAG continues to collaborate toward a brighter future for Southern California. Here are a few highlights from the first half of fiscal year 2024-25.

Connect SoCal 2024 Implementation

SCAG staff and local and subregional partners are progressing on implementing the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, as outlined in a staff report presented to the SCAG Regional Council and policy committees in November.  

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Throughout 2024, Go Human directed resources to community-led safety and engagement strategies, particularly in communities disproportionately affected by traffic violence and historically excluded from transportation investments. Go Human collaborated with community leaders, nonprofit organizations, cities, and local agencies throughout the region to help build safer and healthier places by:

SCAG staff and local and subregional partners are making progress implementing the Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, as outlined in a staff report presented to the SCAG Regional Council and policy committees at the beginning of November.  

SCAG is pleased to announce that the 2025 Federal Transportation Improvement Program (FTIP) has received official federal approval from the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. This approval marks a significant step forward for transportation projects across the SCAG region.

SCAG’s December Regional Council meeting included a presentation of the “2024 Southern California Economic Update,” featuring SCAG’s annual economic reporting, presentations from SCAG’s Economic Roundtable, and in-depth discussion about the state of the economy among Regional Council members.     

The “2024 Southern California Economic Update” details the state of the region’s economy over the past year and forecasts expected economic trends for the coming year.  

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The “2024 Southern California Economic Update” is now available online. SCAG publishes this annual economic update with analysis covering the entire region as well as providing specific insight into the economies of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties.

On Dec. 5, the Regional Council approved the 2024 Sustainable Communities Program (SCP) – Active Transportation and Safety “Project List and Contingency Project List,” a major milestone for a call for applications process opened in July.

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The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has been awarded $6 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) to improve pedestrian safety and access leading up to the 2026 World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl, and 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. 

The SCAG Regional Rail Station Area Housing Analysis supported efforts across the region to accelerate housing production at all income levels, at or near regional rail stations (e.g., Metrolink). More specifically, the analysis stimulated residential development in select station areas with the most development potential by systematically identifying opportunity areas, coordinating with local jurisdictions, and implementing actions that will drive the production of housing and housing-supportive infrastructure. 

The Other-to-Residential Toolkit is a unique tool that guides pl

SCAG partnered with the California Community Foundation, the Irv

The Housing Policy Leadership Academy (HPLA) offered a 10-month educational and training program across eight cohorts to explore how different policy solutions shape the physical and social landscape, to influence the capacity to produce housing for all, and to study how to proactively accelerate housing production. The online training course gathered local leaders in monthly sessions to explore the relationship between policy, planning, and housing development. The HPLA program was funded by the state’s Regional Early Action Planning grant program of 2019 and supports the region’s efforts to accelerate housing production and meet Regional Housing Needs Assessment goals. 

Project Amount: $815,823 

The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) awarded $2.28 million in grant funding to SCAG to improve transportation safety, including funding for a new regional safety data analysis and modeling platform and continued work on the Go Human regional traffic safety and community engagement program. 

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Nominations are now open for SCAG’s 2025 Sustainability Awards. The SCAG Sustainability Awards recognize projects for contributing to the goals of the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and for achieving progress toward a more mobile, sustainable, and prosperous region.

On Nov. 7, the SCAG Regional Council approved project nominations for Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) funding. As the region’s metropolitan planning organization, SCAG is tasked with submitting project nominations from regional agencies to the California Transportation Commission.  

SCAG is releasing the final update to the Racial Equity Action Early Plan—culminating a three-year process to center equity in SCAG plans and processes.  

Since 2019, SCAG has been partnering with local jurisdictions to support the planning and development of housing through the Regional Early Action Planning program. With two unprecedented waves of funding, in 2019 and again in 2021, SCAG quickly allocated money to local and sub-regional partners, successfully advocated for maintaining the funding through the budget uncertainty of the past year, and negotiated administrative flexibility from the state to support local project delivery. 

The Southern California Clean Cities Coalition received two first place awards at the national 2024 Clean Cities and Communities Training Workshop for the “greatest percent increase in gasoline gallon equivalents (GGEs) reduced” (i.e., an alternative fuel source equivalent to one gallon of fossil fuel) and the “greatest percent increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) reduced.” All 75+ coalitions in the national network of clean cities coalitions were eligible for the awards.