The San Gabriel Valley: From Citrus Paradise to Knowledge ... Citrus Paradise... · The San Gabriel Valley: From Citrus Paradise to Knowledge City Michael Woo Dean, College of Environmental

TheSanGabrielValley:

FromCitrusParadisetoKnowledgeCity

MichaelWooDean,CollegeofEnvironmental

DesignCaliforniaStatePolytechnic

University,Pomona

Citrusparadise,circa1893

Theirresistibilityofsunshinetourism

BuiltuponalegacyofSpanishcolonialism

Waterandeconomicgrowth

(theimpactofconsciousdecisions)

“Autopia”Freewaysandsuburbia

WhoarethepeopleoftheSanGabriel

Valleytoday?

RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN NUMBER %

Latino 855,755 46%

Asian American 524,716 28%

White 398,740 22% Black or African American 81,607 4%

AIAN 26,061 1%

NHPI 7,187 0 4%

Total Population 1,846,796 100%

ThreestrategiestomaketheSanGabrielValleya

“cityofknowledgeworkers”

1. Embracetheglobe

“ThefirstsuburbanChinatown”(or“theAsianBeverlyHills”?)

3 millionChinesetouristsexpectedtovisitU.S.in2018(averagepercapitaspending$7,200)

Investmentincentives(EB5visa:Agreencardfor$500,000-$1M

and10newfull-timejobs)

2.Buildupontheeducationpowerhouse

AlreadythelargestsingleemployerintheSanGabrielValley

• Over165,000collegestudents• Over30collegesanduniversities• More4-yearcollegesanduniversitiesthanBoston/Cambridge,Manhattan,Chicago

• LargestcommunitycollegeintheU.S.(Mt.SAC)

• CityofHope• Caltech• ArtCenter• ClaremontColleges

CalPolyPomonatiedfor#5nationallyin“UpwardMobilityTop10”(DavidLeonhardt,NewYorkTimes,January18,2017)

• Baseduponpercentageofstudentsfrombottomfifthofincomedistributionwhoendupinthetopthree-fifths

Constantinnovationisasocialprocess(EnricoMoretti,TheNewGeographyofJobs(2012)

• Geographymatters• Communitymatters• Needforcriticalmassofhighlyeducatedworkersregularlyinvolvedintheexchangeofideas(innovationhubs)

• MichaelStorper onBayArea(GenentechnearUCSF)vs.SoCal(AmgeninThousandOaks)(TheRiseandFallofUrbanEconomies (2015)

3.MaketheSanGabrielValleya”GreenerValley”toattractknowledge

workers

Reliable,affordable,sustainablealternativestodrivingyourowncar

TheSanGabrielValleycanbepartofthesolutiontothehousingcrisis

• LACountyhasthesecondlargesthomelesspopulationintheU.S.(about55,000),butthelargesthomelesspopulationwithoutshelter(75%inLAcomparedto5%inNYC)

• MorethanhalfofLAresidentspayone-thirdormoreofincomeonhousing

• AveragemonthlyrentinLAforone-bedroomapt.is$1,340

• Oneoutof10CSUstudentsarehomeless(and1ofout5lacksteadyaccesstofood)

ThreedirectionsfortheSanGabrielValley

1. Embracetheglobe2. Buildupontheeducationpowerhouse

3. MaketheSanGabrielValleya“GreenerValley”