ABAG

ABAG stands for the Association of Bay Area Governments, a regional planning agency for the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It coordinates land use, housing, transportation, climate resilience, and hazard mitigation planning for local jurisdictions within the nine-county Bay Area region.

ABAG serves Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties, encompassing more than 100 cities, towns, and special districts. Its work includes developing regional forecasts of population and employment, guiding housing and land-use planning, and producing plans that integrate transportation and land use. A central part of its mission is administering the regional housing needs allocation (RHNA) process and helping local jurisdictions plan for housing growth. It also provides data, maps, and technical analyses to support local and regional decision-making.

ABAG is governed by a policy board composed of elected officials from member jurisdictions, with professional staff handling research, data collection, and program administration. The agency works closely with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC); together they produce Plan Bay Area, a long-range plan that links housing, land use, and transportation decisions for the region.

Over time, ABAG's regional planning efforts have sometimes sparked debates about housing goals and growth management, but the agency remains a central source of regional data, planning tools, and coordination for the Bay Area.