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Below you will find some implications, early indicators, and
possible strategic options for each of the San Joaquin Valley stories.
Go to: New Eden
| Toxic Gold | Rosa's World
| A Tale of Two Valleys
What does NEW EDEN mean?
- Ethnic and class divisions pose risks for the
region
- Local governments are impotent without resources
- Greater poverty discourages new investment
- Out-migration by people who can leave leads to a decline in local
tax revenue
Possible Early Indicators of NEW EDEN
- Increased demand for social services
- UC Merced does not easily attract local Latinos because many are
under-prepared by local school systems
- Latino college graduation rates lag
- Rural health clinics close
- Drug use increases throughout the region
- Rise in single-parent families and unsupervised kids
- Increasing unemployment rates and bankruptcies
- High-school drop-out rates increase
- Median family income decreases
- Crime rates increase
- Domestic violence soars
Strategic Options for NEW EDEN
- Build a regional economic model that has a clear understanding
of economic inter-relations between counties and cities, especially
implications on other/surrounding areas
- Develop programs to educate newcomers about political and judicial
system: how it works, how to use it (e.g., voter education, jury
participation)
- Build regional consensus and vision on quality of life asking
the question: Where do we want to go?
- Address ethnic tension: 1) Practice the Golden Rule at the personal
level; 2) Live your life as an example of inclusivity; 3) Subtle,
savvy, long-range, and continuous use of media to do away with stereotypes,
and show positive relations between diverse groups
- Level the educational playing field, decrease differences between
school districts, and maintain standards for teachers. (e.g., bringing
lower districts up, not lowering exemplary districts)
- Redefine the ‘Central Valley’ with a bigger vision
and commitment of what we want to be
- Balance quality teachers and salaries across districts
- Encourage civic participation and grassroots political activism
- Reform educational funding system
- Improve credential programs for teachers
- Fund experiments in alternative education (e.g., neighborhood
or community school to meet a variety of needs)
- Develop programs to increase community involvement, to find consensus
for solutions
- Use technology to enhance educational process with game theory,
simulations etc.
- Ensure equal access to resources: quality schools, local government
services, broadband telecommunications, health care, a safe environment
and a good quality of life
- Value the Valley
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What does TOXIC GOLD mean?
- Economic decisions require tradeoffs
- A regional image is created in many ways
- Ensure that toxic wastes don’t pose health threats through
adequate regulation
- Threat of future decline of waste: Is an economy built on waste
truly sustainable?
- Highways clogged with trucks require congestion management
- There is a need to fund alternative employment that pays decent
wages for people without college degrees
- Short-term benefits must be balanced against long-term results
- Individuals and local decisions lead to regional results
- Image and quality of life attract or repel investments
Possible Early Indicators of TOXIC GOLD
- More prisons being built in the Valley
- More hazardous waste dumps proposed or sited in the Valley
- Federal government looks to the Valley as a storage facility
- Sludge and biosolids come into the region
- Increase of political influence of urban areas in the Capitol
- Increasing population pressure along California coast
- Growth of ‘Not in My Backyard’ (NIMBY) movements in
Bay Area and Los Angeles
- Increased volume of freight to and from coastal metropolitan areas,
no regional integration for bad air impacts
- Growing cost of land in Southern California—shrinking availability
- Valley zoning decisions enable distribution and other uses
- More land subsidence
- No transit alternatives in the Valley
Strategic Options for TOXIC GOLD
If a significant number of these early
indicators show up in the news, then the citizens of the San Joaquin
Valley would be wise to implement at least some of the following
strategic options:
- Create regional coalition to: 1) Increase political clout of
region; 2) Force mitigation and compensation for negative spillovers;
3) Create alignment around shared vision for the future
- Create public—and private—university partnerships
to tap federal funds to create needs assessment study on Valley
toxic waste challenges and health impacts
- Ensure that tax and fee systems require that income from hazardous
wastes and other facilities stay in the Valley (as much as possible)
- Feasibility study to consider shifting distribution and logistics
traffic from trucks/freeway to rail-freight system
- Create external support system for communities impacted by prisons
(e.g., social services for families of prisoners, guards, etc.)
- Limit the number of prisons per capita in any single region of
the state
- Encourage scientific studies on the use of waste by-products
that are efficient and eco-friendly. Become the R&D center for
new processes and technologies
- Monitor best practices in waste management globally—implement
and build on them
- Insist on full enforcement of environmental health regulations,
especially for air and water quality
- Become a global leader in recycling technology
- Recognize the impact of individual choices
- Value the Valley
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What does ROSA’S WORLD mean?
- Difficulty attracting and retaining teachers
and health-care professionals has a long-term impact
- Difficulties attracting clean industry has an impact on the region’s
attractiveness
- Difficulties attracting talent of all kinds pushes the best away
- Efficient land use is tied to quality of life
- Need for enforcing air quality—implementation and enforcement
- Little affordable health care affects livability—affordable
housing is critical
- There is a need for regional coalitions
- Apathy
- “Me-first” thinking narrows horizons
- Recession—How can the Valley ride out economic fluctuations?
Possible Early indicators of ROSA’S
WORLD
- Widening gaps in education and income
- Increasing numbers of Latinos and others in illegal drug trade
- Increasing, inter-ethnic friction, unemployment and more poverty
- Increasing demands for social services
- Increasing drop-out rate
- More gated communities and social separation
- Worsening economy
- Shortage of water
- Poor air, higher asthma rates and other health problems
- An increase in drug abuse and crime
- More prisons and prisoners call the Valley home
- Bankruptcies, relocations, shut-downs
- Farmers are not in investing in new equipment
- More single-parent families and decrease in retirees
- Higher infant mortality
- Increase in gun ownership or signs of ‘fortress-like’
housing
Strategic Options for ROSA’S
WORLD
If a significant number of these early indicators
show up in the news, then the citizens of the San Joaquin Valley
would be wise to implement at least some of the following strategic
options.
- Education reform with more options for different needs
- High speed rail plus comprehensive land use planning to cover:
1) Shutting down toxic towns bypassed by rail; 2) Economic development
for hubs so that they are more than bedroom suburbs to Los Angeles
and the San Francisco Bay Area; 3) more roads and fuel cell technology
to avoid air pollution
- Local initiatives to rebuild schools and provide long term support
to the local education system—including parents, teachers,
community, and business
- Strategic economic development plan that progressively builds
on the Valley’s strengths: 1) first warehouses; 2) then light
manufacturing; 3) then high-tech
- Find common ground on which to build shared vision of the big
picture
- Voter registration drive directed towards Latinos and other emerging
groups
- Build community nonprofits to meet community service needs not
served by other sectors
- Seek outside grants and philanthropy
- Provide optimism and opportunity for young people
- Value the Valley
Back to Top
What does
A TALE OF TWO VALLEYS mean?
- Ethnic and class divisions pose risks for the
region
- Local governments are impotent without resources
- Greater poverty discourages new investment
- Out-migration by people who can leave leads to a decline in local
tax revenue
Possible Early Indicators of A TALE OF TWO
VALLEYS
- Increased demand for social services
- UC Merced does not easily attract local Latinos because many are
under-prepared by local school systems
- Latino college graduation rates lag
- Rural health clinics close
- Drug use increases throughout the region
- Rise in single-parent families and unsupervised kids
- Increasing unemployment rates and bankruptcies
- High-school drop-out rates increase
- Median family income decreases
- Crime rates increase
- Domestic violence soars
Strategic Options for A TALE OF TWO VALLEYS
If a significant number of these early indicators
were to appear, then the following strategic options would be an
appropriate response to the increasing likelihood of the Tale of
Two Valleys scenario playing out.
- Build a regional economic model that has a clear
understanding of economic inter-relations between counties and cities,
especially implications on other/surrounding areas
- Develop programs to educate newcomers about political and judicial
system: how it works, how to use it (e.g., voter education, jury
participation)
- Build regional consensus and vision on quality of life asking
the question: Where do we want to go?
- Address ethnic tension: 1) Practice the Golden Rule at the personal
level; 2) Live your life as an example of inclusivity; 3) Subtle,
savvy, long-range, and continuous use of media to do away with stereotypes,
and show positive relations between diverse groups
- Level the educational playing field, decrease differences between
school districts, and maintain standards for teachers. (e.g., bringing
lower districts up, not lowering exemplary districts)
- Redefine the ‘Central Valley’ with a bigger vision
and commitment of what we want to be
- Balance quality teachers and salaries across districts
- Encourage civic participation and grassroots political activism
- Reform educational funding system
- Improve credential programs for teachers
- Fund experiments in alternative education (e.g., neighborhood
or community school to meet a variety of needs)
- Develop programs to increase community involvement, to find consensus
for solutions
- Use technology to enhance educational process with game theory,
simulations etc.
- Ensure equal access to resources: quality schools, local government
services, broadband telecommunications, health care, a safe environment
and a good quality of life
- Value the Valley
Back to Top
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