IS LIVABILITY IMPORTANT TO SAN DIEGO?

In 2004 the city of San Diego was acknowledged by an award from Partners for Livable communities, a Washington DC non-profit, as one of the most livable cities of the decade. Little attention was paid by the media, except negative remarks about what was wrong with San Diego and none of the many groups promoting San Diego seem to feel that spreading that news was important. A mistake of ample proportions and evidence that our leadership fails to recognize then and now the economic, health and substantial value that livability brings to a city.

At the end of world war two a new migration began in this country. People began to move from the traditional centers of commerce to the Sunbelt cities. The migration began slowly at first and picked up momentum in the mid-fifties and by the sixties it turned into a mass migration. Many mid-west and east coast cities began to experience a significant drop in residence and commerce. The economy was usually to blame, however other parts of the country were experiencing rapid growth and new industries. The federal government recognized a problem and wanted to know what was causing this new migration. Since early civilization cities grew because they were either close to natural resources or in the middle of major trade routes. This was apparently no longer true.

In the early Seventies the Federal government contracted with the prestigious Rand Corporation a internationally known think tank located in Santa Monica, California to study this phenomena. The Rand Corporation made some historic discoveries that would forever change the strategies a city or community must employ for economic development and growth. The most significant discovery was the decision to relocate by an individual was no longer driven first by the availability of work, but driven by an individual perception of the quality of life they might find in a particular location. The second major discovery was, the people who moved are well educated and often brought Jobs with them in the form of starting a new business or bringing an existing business with them, jobs were now beginning to follow people instead of people following jobs. The Rand Corporation concluded a community’s amenities to be the deciding factor in the decision to relocate to a particular location.

The concept of Economics of Amenities was born and recognized by the aging cites, who made amenities their primary thrust in redevelopment efforts. Pittsburg is a shinning example of these new strategies, which began in the seventies. The Mellon foundation and the Heinz family became the city’s partners in an amenities development effort. Attention was paid to the waterfront and docks were replaced with parks, theaters were refurbished, art festivals and gatherings planned. The city center was decorated with banners of coming events and a friendly attitude was adopted by city employees from bus drivers to the police. Pittsburg rose from a near deserted steel town with major pollution and abandoned building problems to a new and thriving work center.

San Diego is blessed with the natural amenity of weather; however we are rich in other amenities as well. Our cultural community ranks among the best in the United States. Often this is overlooked or, worse, it is perceived to be poor. I doubt the Old Globe or La Jolla playhouse with their multiple Tony awards would agree that San Diego lacks culture, nor would our Opera or Symphony, which are among the finest in the nation. If you still don’t believe consider Balboa Park which has more cultural institutions in one place than anywhere in the world. Now add in the small theaters like the Rep, Sledgehammer, Lambs Players or the numerous community theaters which thrive in our neighborhoods.

Traffic is the number one complaint in San Diego and often cited as the reason we are not a livable city. Traffic is bad but so is the traffic in where do I start, San Francisco, St Louis, Washington DC, Kansas City or how about Denver. Traffic is the number one complaint in nearly every city. We at least have a good light rail system serving downtown, East County and South County. The coaster serves much of the north coastal route, but we do lack n inland northern route, never the less our city is doing better than most.

Amenities, San Diego is rich in amenities and we benefit from it. Business pays less for employees than in other major metropolitan areas. You think not, ask some skilled workers if they ever turned down a job in another city paying more money just to live here. I put that question recently to a TV news reporter and his cameraman. They both said oh you are right, because they both turned down jobs in other cities for more money. Business in San Diego also enjoys a wealth of talent. San Diego is full of smart well educated and energetic people. I know a bar owner who put an ad for a bartender in the paper. One third of the applicants had College degrees. These talented people also start business which is why San Diego is dominated by small diverse business. This diversity gives San Diego economic balance making the impact of national recession, minimal on San Diego.

The story of how making your city really livable and all the benefits and value is a long one. I have only scratched the surface here. It is true that the most powerful method to make your city prosperous, sustainable and economically strong is make it the most livable place on earth. Then why have our city leaders preferred growth, by subsidizing development, relocation of companies and not focused on making amenities a priority. I don’t know maybe because developers make bigger campaign contributions.