Regional Advanced Mitigation Planning
Regional advance mitigation planning (RAMP) enables state and federal agencies to simultaneously consider the environmental impacts and mitigation needs of multiple planned projects and to satisfy mitigation requirements early in project planning and environmental review. RAMP improves certainty, accelerates project delivery, and lowers permitting costs. It also helps agencies to consider species and habitat needs at a landscape level, preserving larger areas of high-quality habitat and improving regional ecological function.
There are many types of RAMP programs designed to support development and strategic environmental conservation across jurisdictions. These include conservation or mitigation banks, which protect land and generate habitat credits for developers; regional conservation plans, which coordinate habitat protection and streamline California Environmental Quality Act mitigation requirements; multiple species habitat conservation plans, which allow development while establishing and managing large, coordinated conservation areas; natural community conservation plans/habitat conservation plans, which use a long-term, ecosystem-based approach to protect species and accommodate growth; and regional conservation investment strategies, voluntary, non-regulatory frameworks that support advance mitigation through strategic, region-wide conservation planning.
RAMP is a strategy in the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, which specifically calls for SCAG to work with implementation agencies to support, establish, or supplement voluntary RAMP programs for regionally significant transportation projects to mitigate environmental impacts, reduce per-capita vehicle miles traveled, and provide mitigation opportunities through the Intergovernmental Review Process.
SoCal Greenprint
SoCal Greenprint is a web-based mapping tool to help local jurisdictions, transportation agencies, stakeholders, and local communities make strategic land use and infrastructure decisions, support conservation investments, and offset the impacts of transportation and development projects.
This optional, flexible, open data tool maps high-quality environmental, ecological, and land use data to support regional advance mitigation planning initiatives. It also assists local and subregional agencies in securing state and federal funding for sustainability and resilience projects and programs in the SCAG region.
By offering credible, centralized data for grant applications and project justification, the SoCal Greenprint empowers communities across the SCAG region to pursue impactful, future‑focused investments.
The SoCal Greenprint is part of SCAG’s broader RAMP initiative, required by the Connect SoCal Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy for both 2020 and 2024—as well as their program environmental impact reports—to support regional advance mitigation programs.
In February 2024, the SCAG Regional Council approved data standards to ensure the SoCal Greenprint tool meets its objectives, aligns with the Regional Advanced Mitigation Program Policy Framework, and accounts for feedback from the Greenprint Technical Advisory Committee. The data standards also ensure the tool’s data are consistent and trustworthy, with clearly defined rules for use, access, distribution, and security.
Request Access to the SoCal Greenprint
To access the SoCal Greenprint, users will need to create an Arup account as part of the onboarding process. Please email your first and last name to SupportSCAGGreenprint@arup.com to request an account.
Already have a SoCal Greenprint account with Arup? Visit the Arup website to log in and access the tool. Arup also published a user guide for additional information on how to access and use the tool.
RAMP Policy Framework
The RAMP Policy Framework, adopted by the Regional Council in February 2023, provides background on Connect SoCal’s goals and Program Environmental Impact Report requirements related to RAMP, outlines goals for regional advance mitigation and SCAG’s RAMP Initiative, and guides the development of the SoCal Greenprint tool to provide data that aligns with advanced mitigation opportunities.