R+A worked with the City of Delano to prepare a new Health and Sustainability Element for their General Plan. Delano is the second largest city in Kern County and surrounded by agricultural lands, industrial facilities, and two State prisons. Delano residents, like many of the surrounding ones, suffer from higher than average health disparities including high rates of asthma, low income, and lack of health insurance. The City was awarded a Smart Valley Places Grant to improve the health and environmental sustainability of Delano through the creation and implementation of a Health and Sustainability General Plan Element.

Raimi + Associates supported the City in facilitating a Planning Task Force, organizing community workshops, conducting an existing conditions analysis, and writing the Element. Some of the community’s top priorities include reducing exposure to environmental toxins, increasing access to healthy foods, improving walkability and park safety, and most importantly balancing the distribution of community resources and amenities between the eastside and westside of town. The Health and Sustainability Element was unanimously adopted in December 2013.