Connect SoCal 2024 Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

Connect SoCal Plan (2024 RTP/SCS)

What is SCAG?

Founded in 1965, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is an association of local governments and agencies that voluntarily convene to create holistic plans that achieve unified goals and elevate the region. Under federal law, SCAG is designated as a metropolitan planning organization and under state law as a regional transportation planning agency and a council of governments.

The SCAG region encompasses six counties (Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura) and 191 cities in an area covering more than 38,000 square miles.

The agency develops long-range regional transportation plans that include sustainable communities strategies and growth forecasts, regional transportation improvement programs, regional housing needs allocations, and a portion of the Air Quality Management Plans in the South Coast Air Quality Management District. 

What is Connect SoCal 2024?

Connect SoCal 2024 (also known as the 2024 -2050 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS or the “Plan”), represents the vision for Southern California’s future, including policies, strategies, and projects for advancing the region’s mobility, economy, and sustainability through 2050. The plan details how the region will address its transportation and land use challenges and opportunities to achieve its regional emissions standards and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. Connect SoCal 2024 builds from the policy direction established in Connect SoCal 2020 as well as more recent policy direction from SCAG’s Regional Council policy committees and special subcommittees to reflect emerging issues such as equity, resilience, and the economy.

Connect SoCal 2024 is required by federal and state legislation to qualify project sponsors for federal funding. SCAG is required to update this long-range planning document every four years.

What is included in Connect SoCal 2024?

Connect SoCal 2024 contains the following core components:

  • Vision, policies, strategies and performance measures: Contains an overarching vision, regional planning policies, list of regional transportation goals and implementation strategies and measures for evaluating the region’s performance in achieving those goals.
  • Forecasts: Projects future distribution of population, households, employment, land use, and housing needs.
  • Financial plan: Identifies reasonable expected revenues over the 25-year plan horizon.
  • List of projects: Includes projects anticipated for initiation and/or completion by 2050.
  • Analysis of the following focus areas: Includes technical reports on active transportation, aviation, congestion management, equity and environmental justice, goods movement, highways and arterials, housing land use including farm and natural lands conservation, and transportation conformity.

How were projects selected for inclusion in Connect SoCal 2024?

Early in the planning process, SCAG asked that each of the six-county transportation commissions (CTCs) submit updated project lists for inclusion. The CTCs are responsible for adding, removing, or updating projects from Connect SoCal 2020 based on jurisdictional needs. These projects were then considered for inclusion in Connect SoCal 2024.

What is SCAG’s role in developing Connect SoCal 2024?

SCAG is the lead agency in facilitating the development of the region’s long-range transportation planning. SCAG understands the importance of input and consensus and utilizes a collaborative process over several years to create Connect SoCal 2024. This includes working with local jurisdictions through a process known as the Local Data Exchange (LDX) as well as working directly with county transportation commissions (CTCs). Throughout the development of Connect SoCal 2024, SCAG staff are guided by its policy committees, with input from and consultation with CTCs, subregions, local governments, several state and federal agencies (including Caltrans), environmental and business communities, tribal governments, non-profit and community-based organizations, as well the public. The end result of this process is a collaborative and comprehensive document that reflects public consideration and addresses the region’s needs.

How does Connect SoCal 2024 affect me?

Given the geographic diversity and size of the SCAG region, a coordinated transportation system that is well integrated with land uses and operates efficiently is imperative to the mobility and quality of life of Southern California residents. By employing a regional focus on transportation and land use planning, SCAG seeks to improve the region’s mobility, economy, and sustainability.

And although it doesn’t commit funds to specific projects, Connect SoCal 2024 does set the framework for how transportation tax dollars will be spent in the SCAG region over the coming years and decades. The future of the SCAG region will be shaped by the goals and policies set forth in Connect SoCal 2024.

Why do we need Connect SoCal?

Southern California is expected to add nearly 1.7 million people in the next 25 years. Connect SoCal 2024 lays out a vision for accommodating that growth, while at the same time maintaining quality of life and protecting the environment.

Who will approve Connect SoCal?

Various elements of Connect SoCal 2024 will be brought before SCAG’s policy committees for review, and then before SCAG’s 86-member Regional Council for approval. The Regional Council is made up of elected representatives from the region’s cities and counties as well as one representative for the Southern California Native American Tribal Governments.

How is the public involved?

Public hearings for the draft Connect SoCal 2024 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy have concluded. 

To develop Connect SoCal 2024, SCAG hosted several interactive community workshops, pop-ups and engagements, and presented regularly to various working groups and technical advisory committees.

SCAG released the draft Connect SoCal 2024 for public review and comment from Nov. 2, 2023, to Jan. 12, 2024. During this period, SCAG hosted elected official briefings and public hearings. SCAG is required to respond to or address all comments and responses received during the public review and comment period. The final Plan will include a Public Participation and Consultation Technical Report to catalog and archive comments received.

Although the public hearings have concluded, SCAG invites you to view the presentation and other related materials and submit comments at ConnectSoCal.org.   

Local Data Exchange (LDX)

What is the Local Data Exchange process?

The Local Data Exchange (LDX) is the main opportunity for cities and counties to provide input into Connect SoCal 2024, Southern California’s Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy. The draft Connect SoCal 2024 includes data edits provided by jurisdictions by the Dec. 2, 2022, deadline.

Why did SCAG initiate the LDX process?

The input received through the LDX process helped SCAG generate a Forecasted Regional Development Pattern for Connect SoCal 2024 that identifies how and where the region will accommodate anticipated growth. SCAG is mandated by statute to generate a Forecasted Regional Development Pattern to help meet required greenhouse gas emissions and Clean Air Act targets and ensure the region can thrive in the coming decades.

What type of information and data did SCAG use in the Draft Connect SoCal 2024 growth projections?

The draft Connect SoCal 2024 growth projection reflects SCAG’s preliminary, expert-informed growth projection and integrates all edits made by local jurisdictions to total households and total employment in 2019, 2035, and 2050 as part of the Local Data Exchange (LDX) process.  These data reflect final Transportation Analysis Zone (TAZ)-level input from jurisdictions that provided input or were granted an extension prior to the Dec. 2, 2022, deadline. These plan data represent a snapshot in time and may not reflect subsequently available information.  Please contact local jurisdictions directly to ensure the most up-to-date planning, development, and construction information. 

TAZ-level growth projection data are a tool to understand how regional policies and strategies may be reflected at the neighborhood level but they show only one set of future growth assumptions as consistent with the Sustainable Communities Strategy. However, other development assumptions and growth patterns could also be consistent with the Sustainable Communities Strategy. As such TAZ-level growth projection data should not be used to prove project consistency with Connect SoCal 2024. TAZ-level growth projection data are advisory and non-binding and jurisdictions have no obligation to change land use policies, general plans or other regulations to to conform with these projection data. 

Does the household growth forecast include a local jurisdiction’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment allocation?

The Connect SoCal 2024 growth forecast integrated available housing element data in its neighborhood-level projections in advance of and during local review to the extent that data were available. 

The Connect SoCal 2024 growth vision, which guides neighborhood-level projections, relies heavily on Priority Development Areas and Priority Resource Areas, key tools for the Sustainable Communities Strategy to operationalize and reinforces the Regional Housing Needs Assessment’s (RHNA) 6th cycle focus on job- and transit-accessible housing.   

The forecast for total regional housing growth in the next decade grew 30 percent from Connect SoCal 2020. This growth responds to early indications showing that RHNA and related state and local pro-housing policies are starting to result in higher production.   

Who participates in the LDX process?

The LDX process is a data exchange between SCAG and the 197 local jurisdictions that serve as the local land-use authorities in the region. SCAG relies upon data and information provided directly by local jurisdictions such as land use and entitlements to generate growth projections. Since Connect SoCal 2024’s projections are not a build-out scenario and entitled projects are often phased over time, SCAG relies on local jurisdictions to assess the development likelihood and timing of key entitlement projects as they review growth projections.

Input is considered complete if approved by a planning director or city manager-level staff using SCAG’s Data Review and Verification Form. In addition, SCAG collaborates directly with the subregional councils of government in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties for outreach and data assistance.

While the LDX process is designed for exchanging certain datasets between local jurisdictions and SCAG, the public can view LDX’s Data/Map Books online at scag.ca.gov/local-data-exchange

How can local jurisdictions view the data layers?

All of the Data/Map Books and their dynamic online equivalent on the LDX portal include the data layers that are the main local ingredients to Connect SoCal 2024. This consists of several layers on which SCAG sought updates and corrections, other layers on which local updates and corrections are optional, and additional third-party data that relate to regional objectives and are included for reference.

View Only: The Data/Map Books are publicly available PDF versions of the data specific to each local jurisdiction and are designed to help local planners better understand the sources, methodologies and contexts of datasets that will be integrated into SCAG’s regional plans. Data/Map Books were updated alongside the release of the draft Connect SoCal 2024.  

Review/Update: The LDX online portal contains digital maps of each data layer that local planners can view, edit, and leave comments and feedback on. Using the portal requires no GIS knowledge or software installation. It also allows cities that maintain GIS or data files to securely upload GIS data layers or ArcGIS Urban completed plans. At this time the LDX online portal continues to reflect preliminary data, including growth projections.  

Unique jurisdictional login information is provided by requesting access here. The SCAG LIST team is available for one-on-one meetings and assistance in using the LDX portal by emailing list@scag.ca.gov

What if a local jurisdiction has corrections or updates or notices errors?

During the LDX process, SCAG welcomed input on and changes to the data due to updates in local policies, including entitlements and development agreements. This process concluded in December 2022.

The Data/Map Books and preliminary growth forecast are non-binding at all stages. Local jurisdiction input is critical in making sure we have the most accurate data available. 

How long did the process take?

On Feb. 23, 2022, SCAG soft-launched the LDX, including most data elements, along with the Regional Data Platform. The LDX complete launch took place on May 23, 2022, and included the planning survey and preliminary growth forecast, also known as Socioeconomic Data. Input and edits were due by Dec. 2, 2022, in order to be included in Connect SoCal 2024.

Where can I get help with the LDX process?

Email us at list@scag.ca.gov for assistance. In addition to providing a more direct, efficient, and modern link between data, local plans, and SCAG’s regional plan goals, the Regional Data Platform also provides a wide range of planning tools and data as well as custom and off-the-shelf software for local jurisdictions.