Managing transportation, housing and handling waste will be top issues that will need to be addressed to maintain the region's quality of life in the coming years.
That was the consensus of a group of panelists who discussed the future of the San Diego County region during a presentation at the Business is Green! Expo titled "Our Region's Quality of Life: Charting a more Sustainable Future."
The discussion centered around the work of the Equinox Center, an independent nonprofit think tank that looks for strategies to drive economic growth and ensure a healthy environment in the county. It releases an annual "Dashboard," or report based on its research.
Ann Tartre, executive director of the organization, said that by 2030, the county is expected to have 650,000 more people, 230,000 new housing units and 300,000 new jobs.
While data suggests there have been improvements in some fronts (such as air quality and water-use issues) there are issues where the region is lagging.
When it comes to waste, San Diegans produce more than 6 pounds of trash per person per day, which is enough for each person's to fill a city bus in one year. On average, the waste disposal rates per capita are the second-highest in California, even higher than Los Angeles County. This increased waste drives a need for more landfills, which are expensive, difficult to site and threaten air and water quality, Tartre said.
She added that when it comes to housing, many San Diegans are struggling to keep up with their rents or mortgage payments, a threat made even more pronounced due to a "squeeze in the rental market." For both homeowners and renters, housing costs in the region are higher than state and national averages.
When it comes to transportation, San Diegan spend more time on the road, on average, than people in Los Angeles, said Tartre, pointing out that people here live further from their jobs and as a result, drive more and increase traffic congestion, leading to decreases in air quality and public health.
Tartre said that these issues are connected, which would require a concerted, regional method to address them from a wider perspective. This interconnectedness, however, also had its positives, she added.
"If we solve one of these big issues … then that will have a big impact on some of the other big issues," she said.
Tartre was joined on the panel by Jacy Bolden of JBC Groups, LLC, Elyse Lowe of Move San Diego and Susan Tinsky of the San Diego Housing Federation, who spoke further on the region's challenges.
That was the consensus of a group of panelists who discussed the future of the San Diego County region during a presentation at the Business is Green! Expo titled "Our Region's Quality of Life: Charting a more Sustainable Future."
The discussion centered around the work of the Equinox Center, an independent nonprofit think tank that looks for strategies to drive economic growth and ensure a healthy environment in the county. It releases an annual "Dashboard," or report based on its research.
Ann Tartre, executive director of the organization, said that by 2030, the county is expected to have 650,000 more people, 230,000 new housing units and 300,000 new jobs.
While data suggests there have been improvements in some fronts (such as air quality and water-use issues) there are issues where the region is lagging.
When it comes to waste, San Diegans produce more than 6 pounds of trash per person per day, which is enough for each person's to fill a city bus in one year. On average, the waste disposal rates per capita are the second-highest in California, even higher than Los Angeles County. This increased waste drives a need for more landfills, which are expensive, difficult to site and threaten air and water quality, Tartre said.
She added that when it comes to housing, many San Diegans are struggling to keep up with their rents or mortgage payments, a threat made even more pronounced due to a "squeeze in the rental market." For both homeowners and renters, housing costs in the region are higher than state and national averages.
When it comes to transportation, San Diegan spend more time on the road, on average, than people in Los Angeles, said Tartre, pointing out that people here live further from their jobs and as a result, drive more and increase traffic congestion, leading to decreases in air quality and public health.
Tartre said that these issues are connected, which would require a concerted, regional method to address them from a wider perspective. This interconnectedness, however, also had its positives, she added.
"If we solve one of these big issues … then that will have a big impact on some of the other big issues," she said.
Tartre was joined on the panel by Jacy Bolden of JBC Groups, LLC, Elyse Lowe of Move San Diego and Susan Tinsky of the San Diego Housing Federation, who spoke further on the region's challenges.