Vision for our carbon free future

The Purpose for the Vision

One of our goals is to articulate a vision (or visions) of a resilient, equitable, zero-carbon future for Sonoma County. We are a diverse community of communities here in Sonoma County. There is no one-size-fits-all vision. This is meant to be an evolving, living community-sourced picture of what the future could look like.

We intend to use the vision to:

  • Help people imagine a better future;
  • Engage people in thinking about policy;
  • Propel a set of policy proposals;
  • Urge and encourage policy makers to act swiftly and boldly.

The Process

We have begun by laying out a foundation from which to build upon. This can be found on the six vision pages: Transportation, Urban Land Use, Soil, Buildings & Energy, Waste, and Stuff We Buy. We fully acknowledge that this initial vision will be imperfect and incomplete. That is where you come in!

Through open visioning periods, we are inviting the community to participate in fine-tuning the vision. During COVID time, you can participate entirely through the website.

The first open visioning period closed on Earth Day, April 22. You are still welcome to add more comments, which will eventually be considered during future edits.

Please review the visioning guidelines below to learn the simple steps to participate. We will use your comments and thumbs up/down ratings to guide edits to the vision. The more thorough you are, the more you can help shape the vision.

Once the initial visioning process is complete, we will present the vision and accompanying policy proposals to relevant City Councils, Boards, etc.



Here's how to envision with us!

Visioning Guidelines:
  1. Click on any of the circle category buttons below to get started.
    (We suggest starting with Transportation and working your way through.)
  2. Use the "like/dislike" buttons to express approval or disapproval of each vision element.
  3. Read other peoples' comments. Give thumbs up to comments that you agree with.
  4. Use the comment features to make specific suggestions for improvements to the vision. Please be as specific as you can. Keep in mind the vision is meant to be the ideal world we would like to see. In the "Policy" area, we can discuss tactics for working towards the vision. For the vision, try to think about the world as it could be, regardless of how unlikely or difficult that might seem... then we'll worry about how to get there.
  5. The first open visioning period closed on Earth Day, April 22, 2021. You are still welcome to add more comments. Edits to the vision are underway and will be followed by another visioning period.

  If you are interested in hosting or participating in a virtual house party to brainstorm the vision and climate solutions with a small group, click here.



Click on a category to get started










"Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. Maybe many of us won't be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breating."

-- Arundhati Roy