OUR FOUNDATION:
The Urban Sustainability Model
Urban Sustainability Model:
Connecting the Pieces of a Clean Energy Future
California’s clean energy transition is one of the most ambitious transformations in the state’s history.
But reaching 100% clean energy requires more than technology, policy, or investment- it requires people and communities to move together through change.
At MREP CA, we developed the Urban Sustainability Model as a guiding philosophy for how individuals, businesses, and entire communities progress toward long-term clean energy integration.
The model recognizes that meaningful participation doesn’t happen all at once. It happens through a sequence- where understanding builds trust, access creates opportunity, experience builds confidence, and sustained engagement leads to lasting adoption.
A Cycle, Not a Single Step
We believe the clean energy transition is not a one-time decision, but a continuous cycle. Like a puzzle, each piece has a distinct role- and none can stand alone.
MREP CA's Urban Sustainability Model is built around four interconnected phases:
-
Awareness
-
Access
-
Application
-
Adoption/Advocacy
Each phase represents a critical piece of the puzzle. When these pieces are intentionally aligned, they form a complete and functional system- one that supports a just, durable, and community-centered transition to clean energy.
Urban Sustainability Model
Our Framework for an Equitable Clean Energy Transition
AWARENESS
APPLICATION
ACCESS
ADVOCACY
URBAN
SUSTAINABILITY
MODEL
From Information to Ownership
Successful progression through this cycle ensures that communities are not only informed about California’s clean energy transition—but understand it, trust it, benefit from it, and ultimately champion it.
This is the foundation of a just transition: one where clean energy is not something that happens to communities, but something they actively participate in, shape, and sustain.
If even one piece is missing, the system breaks down. Information without access leads to frustration. Access without application leads to underutilization. Application without adoption leads to short-term gains without lasting resiliency and sustainability.
A Model Designed for the Urban Marketplace
The Urban Sustainability Model is intentionally designed to reflect the realities of California’s urban marketplace- where residents, workers, property owners, businesses, and government departments intersect.
It is culturally competent, practical, and grounded in lived experience, ensuring the transition to clean energy supports economic resilience alongside environmental progress.
Through this model, MREP CA aligns education, workforce development, sustainable redevelopment, and advocacy into a single, integrated ecosystem—demonstrating how urban communities across California can move from intention to impact.
When all the pieces come together, the model becomes action. Discover how each phase is activated through MREP CA’s Ecosystem of Clean Energy Services and the work happening on the ground.