Creating a vision for a just, democratic, and livable Los Angeles. Developing community-based policy agendas. Building grassroots social movements and stimulating organizing that help empower people. Those were the goals of the Progressive Los Angeles Network and the community, labor, housing, transportation, immigrant rights, and environmental groups and individual activists and researchers that came together in 2000 and 2001, through the PLAN process hosted by UEPI, to develop specific progressive policy initiatives linked to the themes of social and economic justice, livability, and democratic participation. In March 2001 PLAN released its 21 Point Agenda based on the work of its various task forces and in advance of the 2001 mayoral election.
Since then, UEPI has helped develop and/or collaborated with other networks to further elaborate a progressive policy framework. This has included an Open Letter to the new L.A. City Planning Directors in 2005 and again in 20010 that elaborated a progressive agenda for Planning, and a series of initiatives and agenda documents in such areas as Transportation and Food Policy where UEPI played a role.
