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IMPERIAL & SAN DIEGO: THE CERF SOUTHERN BORDER REGION
San Diego and Imperial counties share much. They both have agricultural economies of approximately $2 billion. They share space on the U.S. Mexico border. They have been prominently and positively influenced by LatinX culture. The cross-border economy is significant and important to both. San Diego benefits from Imperial County’s residents who invest in San Diego real estate and companies that receive supplies via San Diego. Imperial County benefits from trade with its wealthy neighbor.However, in many ways, the two counties are different. San Diego has a diverse economy based on manufacturing, trade, tourism, recreation, clean energy, life sciences, the military and more. Imperial County is dominated by agriculture with minor components of the military, recreation, and clean energy. San Diego County is wealthy. Imperial County is poor.
Even though there are stark differences between Imperial County and San Diego County, both economically and environmentally., the two counties are linked by a shared opportunity to build large new regional industries, create new job opportunities, grow their workforces, strengthen regional supply chains, build community, and address deep existing economic and environmental disparities.
The aim of this proposal is to build community capacity by elevating the voice and visibility of underrepresented groups and to create and strengthen multi-sector relationships and partnerships using community-building principles. Capacity building and partnerships are critical during activities such as participatory budgeting programs, the identification of where new residential, community, academic, water, power sector, and transportation investments can both enable new industrial growth and strengthen existing industries and sectors, create livable and health communities to support economic development, and address existing and future environmental challenges, such as poor air quality for low-income and minority communities in Imperial Valley and San Diego.
The process for achieving these goals will involve:
- Imagining a New, Diverse Economic Vision for Imperial County.
- Growing San Diego’s Diverse Economy.
- Strengthening the linkages between Imperial and San Diego Counties.
Accomplishing the goals of the Community Economy Resiliency Fund program will require bringing together diverse teams representing organizations serving Imperial and San Diego counties to conduct planning efforts that will strengthen our communities, and result in a portfolio of potential projects that will put in place equitable and sustained economic and community growth and investment (not boom and bust extraction cycles), and train and grow each county’s workforce.
