1. Running head: COMMUNITY ISSUES 1
Community Issues
Sarah Marais
BSHS 485
June 15, 2015
Professor Nolan

2. COMMUNITY ISSUES 2
Community Issues Notes
Population growth over the past twenty years has been higher in this county than
anywhere else in the nation and it will continue, according to the Statewide Public Opinion
Survey (PPIC), with a projected growth rate of eighteen percent by 2050. The fastest rate of
change is occurring during this decade, transcending a hundred percent increase from 2010
(Keatts, 2013). Part of the population explosion this city faces is due to its location on the U.S.-
Mexico border. It contends with unique challenges as one side of a gateway for economic and
labor force relations, via the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
(Viswanathan et al., 2005). In 1997, with a population of nearly three million people, San Diego,
California was the seventh largest city in the US; by 2013, it also ranked as one of the least
affordable, with a relatively low median income and household median home prices of $411,000
(Fong, 2014). Thus, buying a home is not always conceivable.
In combination with rapid economic globalization and exploding population growth,
struggles to establish affordable housing programs in San Diego have been severely crippled
since state level policy changes dating back thirty years. Residents are concerned that the
population rise threatens the county with increased problems regarding traffic, crime, poverty,
pollution, immigration, local taxes, homelessness; education, and affordable housing
development (PPIC, 2008; 2010). This paper will examine how the social and political climate
especially changed in the last ten years. The reader will be shown how advocacy efforts toward
affordable housing have influenced current attitudes and policies and executed; as well as the
stakeholders and their roles in the advocacy process. Local officials will maintain a key role in
solving the challenges this region faces. It will lend an understanding toward how advocacy

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efforts have evolved and changed based on an understanding of the interaction of human
systems.
How Population Growth, Economic Globalization, and the Loss of Autonomy by
Local Bodies Impacts Affordable Housing in San Diego
Disparities revealed in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and San Diego’s Gross
Regional Product (GRP) measures proved that, despite the unemployment rate being eleven
percent, underemployment and poverty rates were more than double that (Viswanathan et al.,
2005). High labor force input rates and economic growth have not reduced poverty over the past
several years and unemployment is not the cause of poverty (PPIC, 2008; 2010). The question
then is what may be the cause of poverty rates. Two of the major contenders are economic
globalization and the impact of government policy changes.
Border procedures are harmonizing to expedite movement. However, once a closed
economy opens up and integrates with other economies, this compounds pre-existing
vulnerabilities and creates new vulnerabilities. The dynamics of free trade do not benefit
everyone equally and it can generate unpredictability. Disputes, volatile trading, and fluctuating
commodity values can disrupt global markets, impacting countries on the other side of the world
(Hamdani, 2014). Employment and production grow in one are, but job loss occurs in developed
countries, as industries shut down and offshore jobs to lower wage countries and tax
jurisdictions. When global companies “legally exploit differences in national regulations to
minimize payments through deregulation, privatization, financial incentives and lax application
of public ordinances” to avoid corporate taxes, it also leaves governments vulnerable to revenue
loss (UNCTAD 2012; Hamdani, 2014). Large migration influxes impact job markets, social

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systems, and public services too. In all countries, overall adjustments are especially difficult for
the more vulnerable segments of society.
According to the executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation, for three
decades, Proposition 13 turned control over to a state-controlled resource and caused inadvertent
consequence by reversing the Separation and Sources Act, which originally gave local
governments more autonomy over land use decisions. It resulted in an approximate twenty-two
percent income loss, forcing exponential increase of commercial development over affordable
housing income because that generated guaranteed direct revenue and investments; leading to
urban sprawl. “High construction costs, state tax that discourages residential development and
opposition to high-density building is keeping the cost high;” negating San Diego’s capacity to
provide affordable housing (Fong, 2014).
How the Social and Political Climate regarding Affordable Housing Changed in the
Last Ten Years
Currently, the various committees in San Diego’s Regional Chamber of Commerce
(SDRCC) provide funding policies for public infrastructure maintenance, called Infrastructure
Financing Districts (IFDs). Governor Jerry Brown’s new budget proposes enhancements to
existing IFD statutes to expand options. For example, the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Ordinance
enacted the Housing Impact Fee (HIF), in order to finance affordable housing for low-income
workers, but was not adjusted to match inflation. “Plans to modify the rates, to raise 1.5% over
the next 5 to 10 years, will compensate for that” (Fong, 2014). Overall, along with gradual
increases in the linkage fee, this appeals to both public and private interests in addressing
affordable housing issues. HUD Secretary Henry G. Cisneros states that, since 1997, the San
Diego Housing Commission has been responsible for developing more than fifteen thousand

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units, and helping more than forty thousand individuals and nearly nine thousand families with
affordable housing and rental assistance. Over sixty million dollars was invested in rehabilitation
loans for homeless programs and transitional homes for special needs groups. The Housing
Commission has further developed their public housing program by incorporating the Family
Self Sufficiency (FSS), by combining housing assistance with training, career planning, and
additional support services to assist public housing residents’ attain independence. This was
possible due to the collaboration of community agencies, educational institutions, banks,
businesses, and the Housing Commission.
How Advocacy Efforts Influenced Current Attitudes and Policies
Community development focused on financial initiatives that could meet the demands of
an evolving environment to develop and sustain successful local housing programs. Community
Consensus Building sessions offered approaches to generate grassroots community support for
agency projects, training for new technological programs developed by HUD, home ownership
financing models, along with personal responsibility and work opportunity initiatives. Practical
strategies and innovative techniques focused on innovative techniques for strategic planning,
financial management principles, and successful public relations campaigns. The pros and cons
of privatizing project-based housing programs and absorbing Section 8 tenant based programs
into the welfare system were discussed. Finally, organizations and agencies met with companies
to learn about the most progressive products available in the industry and cost-effective
management techniques (Henry, 1997). The result is a reduction in poverty.
The Stakeholders and Their Roles in the Advocacy Process
City officials are looking to realistically address the issue of affordable housing within
the current political structure. Collaborative efforts between city planners, and nonprofit agencies

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include local developers because they have a wide and strong influence within the county.
Mason Fong, at the Senior Research Project for the Urban Studies and Planning Program,
believes that the most crucial and realistic option would be more public participation by residents
most affected by the issue to provide perspective to key public officials and representatives
(Fong, 2014). He believes the residents need to understand the mechanics of affordable housing
financing and legislation; they need to be aware of the stakeholder groups involved, who controls
the power, arguments and perspectives involved. The most astonishing and commendable efforts
have been focused on the most vulnerable in the city. In a letter heading their brochure,
Campaign to End Homelessness Downtown, the city’s visionaries, stakeholders, elected
leadership, and business community addressed the community. Recognizing that the most
effective approach to boosting the economy and creating a vibrant living and working
environment is to terminate homelessness in San Diego. The collaborative funding effort was
launched in 2009 as a part of a nationwide conglomerate and using their nationally proven
strategy, the campaign’s mission is to provide homes for the homeless community and link them
to supportive services, with the aim of becoming integrated members of San Diego’s community.
How Advocacy Efforts Evolved and Changed based on an Understanding of the
Interaction of Human Systems
The campaign would not have been possible if not for the involvement of sixty local
members heading the Leadership Team and their key partners. This team comprises public safety
officers; downtown business leaders; hospitals, health clinics, and the Health and Human
Services Agency; the County, City, and Civic of San Diego and elected officials; local
universities; individual and corporate philanthropic donors; LeSar Development Consultants;
advocates for veterans and the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs; experts in affordable housing

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and the San Diego Housing Commission; supportive services; workforce development; and
United Way of San Diego. The first phase of the campaign consisted of a pilot program that
focused on housing stability for fifteen of the downtown homeless residents. The success of the
pilot program established permanent efforts for the second phase in early 2013. The team is now
in phase three, with the objective to end homelessness completely by 2015 (City of San Diego,
2012). Efforts, in general, to accommodate the larger issue of a growing population have
incorporated strategies that include continued expansion of permanent supportive housing;
expand collaborations with regional partners; strengthen partnerships with services agencies;
further develop federal and state policy reforms; and gather and evaluate data to measure
progress, leverage additional resources, and refine strategies (Centre City Development
Corporation, 2011).
Conclusion
Indeed, individuals, enterprises, and governments find new ways to adapt. The future
implication for human development is that free trade, along with coherent institutional and policy
responses, can strengthen resilience to an increasingly interconnected world.
Hamdani (2014) suggested an affirmative policy response would involve the emerging
three tier matrix models that incorporate short-term, palliative protective actions, and preventive
and adaptive actions to bolster resilience, for durable, long term endurance. An example of
adaptation policies would be to diversify investment in production structure and export pattern,
and encourage innovation, worker retraining, job creation to build human capabilities and deepen
skills (Hamdani, 2014). Ideally, change management should be proactive when looking at
sustainability. Shared protocols can address trans-border vulnerabilities collectively, aligning
individual capabilities and choices to overcome threats and combine resilience. The considerable

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advance in human development of past decades can only be addressed from a multilateral
context to create shared value in a more inclusive world. San Diego is a uniquely positioned hub
in the big picture and, with political constraints choking local govern decisions, it faces many
challenges now and in the future. Yet, with the innovative programs and impressive
collaborations in action, the future does hold a glimmer of optimism.
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References
Anderson, J. (2013). Center for Latin American Studies and Economics Department: A Human
Development Index for the United States-Mexico Border. Retrieved from: http://www-
rohan.sdsu.edu/~jgerber/docs/Human_development_on_border.pdf
Centre City Development Corporation. (2011). Five-Year Work Plan Toward Goal Of Ending
Homelessness In Downtown San Diego. Retrieved from:
http://svdpv.org/pdf/CCAC_HomelessnessWorkPlan_6-2-11.pdf
City of San Diego. (2012). Annual Report: The Campaign to End Homelessness in Downtown
San Diego. https://endingsdhomelessness.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/final-
booklet_campaign-to-end-homelessness-in-downtown-san-diego1.pdf
Fong, M. (2014). Affordable Housing in the San Diego Region: Approaching the Issue from a
realistic Point of View. Retrieved from: Union Tribune Archives (no link available)
Hamdani, K. (2014). Trans-border Vulnerabilities. Retrieved from:
http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2014_hamdani.pdf.pdf
Henry, M. (1997). Nahro in San Diego. Retrieved from:
http://search.proquest.com.contentproxy.phoenix.edu/docview/230124291?pq-
origsite=summon&accountid=458
Keatts, A. (2013). How San Diego’s Changing, in Three Charts. Retrieved from:
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/mayoral-election-issues-2014/how-san-diegos-changing-
in-three-charts/
Public Policy Institute of California. (2008) Proposition 13: 30 Years Later. Retrieved from:
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_Prop13JTF.pdf

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The Public Policy Institute of California. (2010). Statewide Public Opinion Survey. Retrieved
from: http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/survey/S_700MBS.pdf
Viswanathan, N., Pick, J. Hettrick, J., and Ellsworth, E. (2005). An Analysis of Commonality in
the Twin Metropolitan Areas of San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico. Retrieved
from: http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0038012103000478/1-s2.0-S0038012103000478-
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