The University of California Transportation Center and the Global Metropolitan Studies Center of the University of California, Berkeley propose to work together with California leaders to develop criteria for investments in California's growth. The project will produce performance measures and benchmarks that could be adopted by state agencies, or mandated by the Legislature, to prioritize transportation, parks, schools, and water projects, agriculture, forest, and habitat protection, and other key projects that shape growth and development in the state. Many of these projects will be seeking funding from bonds recently approved by the voters; others are ongoing projects using existing sources of funds including fuel taxes, other special taxes and assessments, and general funds. The criteria and benchmarks will be designed to help decision makers at all levels of government - state, regional, and local - assess the sustainability of projects and to establish sustainable outcomes as key criteria in project design and selection.

To provide a context for the work and to establish a compelling vision of the choices before us, the study will develop, evaluate and document alternative growth trajectories for California over the next thirty years. We will compare a "business as usual" set of outcomes against one or more alternatives for a more sustainable future. Highlighting what's at stake and what opportunities are available for managing growth, the scenarios will be described in a brief report, providing the evidentiary basis for the recommended criteria and benchmarks

Principal Investigator:
Elizabeth Deakin

Contact Information:
Tel: 510.642.2749
Fax: 510.643.5456
Email: edeakin@berkeley.edu
Website: http://www.uctc.net/

Funding Information:
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Start Date: 5/3/07