The Bernalillo County PLACE MATTERS (BCPM) team is part of a nationwide campaign focused on how our neighborhoods and location affect our well being, or in other words, how our zip code can largely determine our health. The committed staff and volunteers at BC PLACE MATTERS have worked for nine years pushing for an ethical and equitable approach to land use.
BC PLACE MATTERS focuses on the future through the lens of environmental justice and health, and they push policy makers to make the right choices now, so that we do not suffer the consequences of a lack of foresight down the road. They want to see Albuquerque grow in a way that encourages healthy lifestyles and has a sustainable future in mind, and they want us to grow so that all demographics are equally benefit from development. The team points to the fact that people cannot make healthy choices if they do not have ACCESS to healthy choices. The PLACE MATTERS advocates to support future generations so they may have access to a quality, healthy life.
The organization is involved in pressing issues in Albuquerque’s planning sphere, the latest being the controversial Santolina Master Plan Development project that has inspired much public discussion this summer.
The Santolina Master Plan development is a proposed master-planned community, planned for the southwest boundary of Albuquerque. The development would house 90,000 people, and span nearly 14,000 acres. Developers point to job creation and future demands for housing as the driving forces of the development. Albuquerque residents and other grassroots organizations are raising critical questions about the allocation of tax-dollars, the lack of quality infrastructure within the city limits, and most importantly, where the community will get its water. At the root BC PLACE MATTERS is aiming to inform and encourage the public to share their vision and voice for the future of Albuquerque. The organization participated in a public hearing this Wednesday, the 29th, at the Civic Plaza.
For more information, or if you’d like to get involved in future public hearings, check out the BCPM website bcplacematters.com
