April 2026
As federal policy shifts away from supporting the EV transition, state and local government planning processes remain at the forefront of ensuring equitable access to electric vehicles and clean mobility technologies in California. Community engagement is central to these efforts, and understanding examples of effective, equity-oriented engagement in practice is key for local leaders and stakeholders navigating the clean mobility transition.
This issue brief examines the community engagement process developed through the Monterey Bay Electric Vehicle Climate Adaptation and Resiliency (EV CAR) Framework, a collaborative initiative led by the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) with Caltrans, Rincon Consultants, Ecology Action, and Regeneración Pájaro Valley Climate Action. The case study draws on interviews with project team members and results from the EV CAR community survey—which engaged over 600 residents—to highlight key themes, lessons learned, and recommendations for equity-oriented EV planning.
The case study surfaces several lessons learned from the engagement process, including the impact of local geographic and planning contexts on in-person outreach, the importance of compensating community participation, and the need for culturally relevant and multilingual engagement strategies in diverse communities. Key findings from the survey include that residents face significant transportation barriers beyond EVs, that familiarity with EV technologies remains low, and that trust-building is essential to meaningful community participation in clean mobility planning.
As the EV CAR framework moves into implementation, the brief provides recommendations for equity-oriented planning processes, including establishing community oversight councils to incorporate local priorities throughout the project life cycle, conducting participatory budgeting to align infrastructure investments with community needs, and negotiating Community Benefits Agreements for large-scale investments.
Contact for more information: Kasia Kosmala-Dahlbeck