Green Means Go: Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods
Building More Connected Communities Through Workforce Opportunity
Green Means Go is a regional initiative led by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) that brings transportation, housing, and community development into a shared approach to planning. It focuses on how these systems come together in real places, especially in communities that have historically seen less investment.
At the center of this work are Green Zones, locally identified areas where infill development is planned alongside transportation and infrastructure improvements. The goal is to support more complete neighborhoods where residents can more easily access housing, services, and jobs without long car trips.
Across these communities, challenges often look similar: difficult street crossings, limited transit access, and fragmented connections between housing and work opportunities. Green Means Go is facilitating a coordinated planning response that links transportation investments to neighborhood needs.
Valley Vision’s Role
As Green Means Go moves into implementation, the infrastructure work happening in each Green Zone will create real hiring needs in construction, engineering, and the skilled trades. Valley Vision is helping to lead the workforce development piece of this effort, connecting residents to those jobs as they come online.
Valley Vision is identifying and working with organizations already doing outreach in Green Zones, so job seekers can find trusted, local paths into training and employment. Working directly with each community, we are helping to project what jobs will open up, what skills they require, and when. Alongside schools, training providers, and workforce boards, Valley Vision is building clear pathways from training into these jobs, including upskilling for workers already in the field. By connecting with a broad range of local businesses, including those historically underrepresented in these industries, along with contractors who meet strong labor standards, Valley Vision is helping ensure hiring for projects within Green Zones benefits the community and reflects the values of the region.
This work is happening alongside SACOG, local workforce boards, community colleges, employers, and community-based organizations, so hiring pipelines are ready by the time construction of projects located within Green Zones begins.
Planning Projects Across the Region
As part of the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grant, Green Means Go supports ten planning projects across rural and urban communities in Sacramento, Yuba, Sutter, and Yolo counties. Each project is located in a federally designated disadvantaged community and focuses on improving connectivity, safety, and access through coordinated transportation and land use planning.
Together, they represent a regional effort to rethink how infrastructure investment can better support the people who live in these communities today, while preparing for future growth.
Get Involved
This work is built on partnership across the region. Employers, educators, workforce partners, and community organizations are all welcome to connect and help shape the alignment of workforce pathways with Green Zone investments.
For workforce-related collaboration or questions, contact Valley Vision:
Liz Kilkenny at Liz.Kilkenny@valleyvision.org
For project details and planning updates, visit SACOG’s Green Means Go page here.
