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About Us
"Across America, no environmental organization
equals
Greenbelt Alliance in vigorously defending,
decade by decade, a great metropolitan region's greenbelt." — Neil R. Pierce,
syndicated columnist
Greenbelt Alliance at a Glance For 50 years, Greenbelt Alliance has been the San Francisco Bay Area's advocate for open spaces and vibrant places.
Our Vision In our vision, the Bay Area remains one of the country’s most desirable places to live, work, and visit. Our cities and towns have attractive, walkable neighborhoods with a vibrant mix of homes, shops, restaurants, and offices. The Bay Area’s communities are linked by buses, trains, and bike paths, and are bounded by a protected greenbelt of rolling hills, productive farmlands, lush watersheds, and plentiful parks.
Our Work
Protecting Open Spaces
Helping cities and counties adopt policies to prepare for future growth while preserving the greenbelt.
Stopping wasteful sprawl development from paving farmland, worsening traffic and air pollution, and contributing to climate change.
Creating Vibrant Places
Endorsing development projects within existing cities, close to shops, jobs, and transit, with homes for people of all income levels.
Advocating for policies that create walkable neighborhoods with homes people can afford, where they can walk, bike, and take transit easily and safely.
Getting People Involved
Educating and mobilizing local residents to give them a voice in choosing how their communities grow.
Publishing award-winning research, providing the region's leaders with the strategies they need to accommodate growth while protecting the greenbelt.
Leading hikes, bike rides, farm tours, and urban walks for hundreds of Bay Area residents every year through our Greenbelt Outings and Livable Communities Outreach programs.
Our History of Success For 50 years, we have worked with local communities and partner groups to help secure long-term protection for more than 1.1 million acres of open space, establish urban growth boundaries around 26 cities and five counties, and endorse the creation of 60,000 homes within existing urban areas.
Our award-winning research has empowered local residents to guide the future of their communities, and helped local planners and elected officials develop smart growth strategies.
A few of the noteworthy places we have helped protect are Cowell Ranch in Contra Costa County (2002), Bear Creek Redwoods in Santa Clara County (2000), Pleasanton Ridge in Alameda County (1993), and Fort Funston in San Francisco (1961). Greenbelt Alliance was also part of the efforts to protect the Marin Headlands and Angel Island. Read more about our history here.
We have actively supported the creation and funding of public park districts around the Bay Area, including most recently the Napa County Regional Parks and Open Space District, created in 2006.
Our Future
The Bay Area will grow in the years ahead. If we plan for it well, that growth can occur in a way that protects the environment, promotes social equity, and preserves the region's quality of life.
Over 4,000 Bay Area residents are members of Greenbelt Alliance because they care about our region and support our work to make it a better place.
