Project Summary
Local and state transportation agencies will face competing pressures as they consider how to restore transportation infrastructure and services in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades communities most heavily damaged by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. Many residents and political leaders will be urging agencies to rebuild quickly, which will favor restoration of roadways and services as they existed prior to the fires. At the same time, regulatory standards, public priorities, and fire impacts will pressure agencies to consider infrastructure designs that are more resilient and that support other transportation system goals. The task of rebuilding therefore requires a community engagement process that is broader in scope than what transportation agencies typically use.
This project provides guidance for collaborative community engagement design based on experiences from California’s Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) program. TCC is a place-based program, governed by Collaborative Stakeholder Structures (CSS), to fund community-designed climate infrastructure in under-resourced neighborhoods. CSSs have a record of success in spanning agency silos and overcoming barriers to cooperation between government and community residents. This project explores the challenges in applying the TCC model to the context of rebuilding in Altadena and the Palisades.
