Why Community-Driven Planning Matters Now More Than Ever
By Génesis Sánchez, NACRP Program Manager
When I stepped into my new role as Program Manager of the National Association of Climate Resilience Planners (NACRP) at People’s Climate Innovation Center just a few months ago, I knew I was joining a powerful community of practice. What I didn’t anticipate was how quickly I’d see the transformative role that community-driven planning plays in shaping just, sustainable, and thriving futures.
At its core, the NACRP is a network of facilitators, practitioners, grassroots leaders, and community-based organizations dedicated to a shared mission: ensuring that the people most affected by climate disruption are also the ones shaping the solutions. We provide tools, training, and knowledge that allow communities to lead planning efforts on their own terms.
The truth is, traditional planning in the U.S. hasn’t served everyone equally. For generations, government agencies and institutions have enacted policies that excluded low-income communities, rural areas, and communities of color from accessing clean air, safe water, affordable energy, economic opportunity, adequate housing, and much more. Community-driven planning flips that script. It’s not just a process, it’s a tool for liberation. By centering the visions and values of the community itself, community-driven planning creates solutions that honor lived experience, dismantle systemic barriers, and advance dignity and self-determination.
The Community-Driven Climate Resilience Planning (CDCRP) Framework, developed in 2017 by leaders from the environmental and social justice movements, has become the guiding compass for this work. It serves as a practical tool that communities across the country use to lead climate resilience planning grounded in justice. In my time since joining he team, I’ve seen how the framework shapes everything we do: training individuals to become skilled facilitators; building a network of certified facilitators that local governments and nonprofits can tap into; and creating funding opportunities that intentionally support community-driven planning efforts.
Over the years, NACRP has trained more than 500 community leaders, youth, and grassroots organizers spanning across six regions in the U.S. to become skilled facilitators of community-driven planning. These facilitators are now leading efforts on the ground to address issues such as energy justice, flooding preparedness, food sovereignty, just disaster recovery, or community land trusts. Their work is proof that when communities have the tools and capacity to lead their own planning processes, they can create solutions that are not only innovative but also deeply rooted in local needs and values.
If you’ve ever wondered what community-driven planning looks like in practice, here’s your chance to see it firsthand. We invite you to join us for the final workshop in our Vision, Power, and Solutions Series on November 20 at 12:30 PM PST, where we’ll hear from Jessica Tovar, Executive Director of the Local Clean Energy Allianceon how communities are using CDP approaches to design and implement climate resilience hubs — living examples of what it means for communities to drive their own climate solutions. Register Now!
