Brookings: Topics - California

California’s Work-to-Welfare Policy

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ron Haskins argues that California's recent decision to allow a substantial number of its welfare recipients to avoid work requirements will reverse nearly a decade and a half of hard-won progress against parental idleness and child poverty.

Bay Area’s Economic Recovery Workplan: Guiding State Stimulus Spending

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A Bay Area economic development nonprofit selected among hundreds of proposals to craft a single ARRA implementation strategy that creates jobs in the short-term and lays the foundation for economic growth and competitiveness in the long-term.

Bay Area’s High Speed Rail Plans: Advancing 21st Century Regional Transportation

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

To accelerate the arrival of regional high speed rail, a collaboration of Bay Area leaders proposes to use ARRA funds on the track and station upgrades that are both necessary for high speed rail but also enhance the safety, capacity, and performance of existing train operations. Brookings experts examine the proposals.

California’s Green Jobs Corps: Building Green Workforce Region-wide

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

California is piloting a regionally-based, public-private partnership-driven, green jobs training program for at-risk youth that leverages ARRA funds with local resources to bring together new collaborations of employers, community colleges, and workforce organizations.

California Metros Hit Hard by Recession

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Most California cities are experiencing the worst economic downturn since the Depression; most Texas cities are not. Based on a new Brookings analysis on the nation's largest metropolitan areas, Alan Berube explains that “a lot depends on what a metro area's firms and workers do, and what its housing market did in the lead-up to the crash.”

Sacramento's Transit-Oriented Development Plan a Model for the Nation

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Chris Leinberger argues that Sacramento, the capital of one of the most hard-pressed states in the country, is an evolving model of development for metropolitan America.

Land Banking as Metropolitan Policy

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A new Blueprint paper argues that the rising number of vacant and abandoned properties around the nation requires a more robust drive by the federal government to aid states and localities in land banking. The author, Frank Alexander of Emory University, recommends that federal policy should better capitalize local and regional land banking (the process or policy by which local governments acquire surplus properties and convert them to productive use), encourage code reform and regional collaboration.

Campaigns For and Against Same-Sex Marriage

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Same sex couples are missing from the advertising wars over Proposition 8, the constitutional ballot initiative on whether to retain or reject same-sex marriage in California. As Brookings scholar Jonathan Rauch, the absence of same sex couples from California's same-sex marriage debate makes for an oddly hollow discussion.

The Impact of Pay-As-You-Drive Auto Insurance in California

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In a follow up to their Hamilton Project discussion paper, Pay-As-You-Drive Auto Insurance: A Simple Way to Reduce Driving-Related Harms and Increase Equity, Jason Bordoff and Pascal Noel examine the effects of pay-as-you-drive in California.

State of Civil Unions: California Court Strikes Down Marriage Ban

Tue, 20 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, and ruled that civil unions are not a legally adequate substitution for marriage. Are then civil union supporters the legal equivalent of segregationists? The California court thinks so, writes Benjamin Wittes.

Migration to Hot Housing Markets Cools Off

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Migration to America's fastest growing cities have tapered off in the last year, according to the latest Census data results. Would-be homebuyers in previously hot housing markets are unable to obtain the homes they desire, leaving them in limbo. William Frey examines the regions across America weathering the downturn.

Beyond Short Term on Super Tuesday

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Though Washington is abuzz with talk of a short-term stimulus for the economy, very little is being said about the long-term challenges to American prosperity. Bruce Katz and David Jackson discuss how metropolitan areas are key to addressing those challenges.

Making Markets an Asset for Lower Income, Working Families

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In this testimony before the California Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, Matt Fellowes discusses the important opportunity to build wealth among California's lower income working families by expanding access to banking services.

The Third California: The Golden State's New Frontier

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Extending from the outer suburbs of greater Los Angeles to the foothills of the high mountains of Northern California, the "Third California" contains virtually all the state's fast-growing regions—from Riverside-San Bernardino in the south to the burgeoning suburbs around Sacramento. However, this growth comes with serious collective challenges on how to capitalize on job and population increases while addressing workforce and environmental concerns.

The Revival of Downtowns Nationally and the Implications for Downtown Sacramento

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In his keynote presentation at the annual meeting of the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Christopher B. Leinberger reveals recent research and market findings from across the country that point to the increased market demand for walkable urbanity.

Confronting Concentrated Poverty in Fresno

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

In this presentation to a citywide convening hosted by Fresno Works for Better Health, Alan Berube examines the causes of concentrated poverty in Fresno, the city with the deepest neighborhood poverty nationwide as noted by Census 2000.

The High Price of Being Poor

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Why are groceries, mortgages and banking more expensive in one of California's poorest cities?

San Francisco Delivers a Local Earned Income Tax Credit

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

One novel approach from the Bay Area may hold lessons for the rest of urban America.

Delivering a Local EITC: Lessons from the San Francisco Working Families Credit

Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 GMT

This paper tells the story of the San Francisco Working Families Credit, now in its second year, explaining how the program worked in its first year of operation and describing lessons learned and best practices for those considering developing a sim

Up from Ultimate Urban Dystopia

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 00:00:00 GMT

At a low point a decade ago, Southern California now is growing fast, thanks to young newcomers.

Access to Social Services: The Changing Urban Geography of Poverty and Service Provision

Sun, 01 Aug 2004 00:00:00 GMT

This paper analyzes the shifting geography of concentrated poverty and its impact on the proximity of social services.

The New Migration Equation

Sun, 09 Nov 2003 00:00:00 GMT

This commentary by William Frey in the Orlando Sentinel presents three new, demographically distinct regions--Melting Pots, New Sunbelt, and the Heartland-- as they are being defined by recent national migration patterns.

The Trajectory of Poor Neighborhoods in Southern California, 1970-2000

Sat, 01 Nov 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Metropolitan Los Angeles experienced large-scale spatial reorganization of poverty in recent decades, especially during the 1990s.

Oakland in Focus: A Profile from Census 2000

Sat, 01 Nov 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Oakland in Focus: This Living Cities databook compiles key city information from Census 2000 in a "one-stop" guide for local leaders.

Los Angeles in Focus: A Profile from Census 2000

Sat, 01 Nov 2003 00:00:00 GMT

Los Angeles in Focus: This Living Cities databook compiles key city information from Census 2000 in a "one-stop" guide for local leaders.

Getting There: An Action Agenda for Wheels to Work

Wed, 09 Oct 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Getting There: An Action Agenda for Wheels to Work

Sprawl Hits the Wall: Confronting the Realities of Metropolitan Los Angeles

Thu, 01 Mar 2001 00:00:00 GMT

This report, by the Southern California Studies Center at USC and the Brookings Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, shows that the Los Angeles region is at a crisis point.

America's Urban Agenda: A View From California

Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:00:00 GMT

Brookings Review article by Antonio R. Villaraigosa (Summer 2000)

The Double Bottom Line: Investing In California's Emerging Markets

Fri, 12 May 2000 00:00:00 GMT

Speech by Philip Angelides, California State Treasurer, May 12, 2000

Why Separate Legal, Illegal Immigrants?

Sun, 04 Aug 1996 00:00:00 GMT

Opinion by Peter Skerry, Nonresident Senior Fellow , the Brookings Institution, in the Los Angeles Times, August 4, 1996