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South Orange County Housing Discussion
August 29, 2009
Workforce housing is a major problem in Orange County. It is essential to a sustainable, functional local economy. Just ask the Orange County Business Council.
Earlier this month, the community center in San Juan Capistrano served as the venue for a public community dialog about housing organized by The South Orange County Alliance for Housing Our Communities, with the woefully brutal acronym SOCAHOC, which, the emcee soon told the audience, was pronounced “Sok-a-whok.” Like I said: brutal. But that’s neither here nor there.
The point was to host a public discussion of “cities’ legal responsibilities to develop affordable homes in response to economic, environmental, transportation and social demand.” The format of the event started with a few minutes of open conversation at each of the 15 or so round tables in the room, with the objective of having each table write down questions for the panel. Then came some opening remarks, a moderator and a panel of four presenters.
The mayor of San Juan Capistrano, Mark Nielsen, gave opening remarks and offered some context for the day’s discussion. Some highlights:
Orange County income threshold for affordable housing: $65k per year for a family of 4- Housing isn’t just a policy “issue,” it is at the base of Maslow’s pyramid of needs: shelter
- There are inherent problems with in-lieu fees as an alternative to fulfulling regulatory housing requirements
- Renovating a neighborhood with fair housing covenants is an idea whose time has come because it can:
- uplift existing neighborhoods
- provide economic stimulus for local tradesmen
- increase affordable workforce housing
- meet regulatory and social responsibilities (more…)
Government 2.0 – What’s Next
May 10, 2009 — 1 Comment
The power of online mass collaboration–how will it impact governments?
- What is next in governance and civil service?
- How will governments of all sizes and jurisdictions evolve?
- Are governments out of touch with the behaviors of their own constituents?
- What is Government 2.0?
If the world of social networking has wrested control of “brand experiences” from the companies who produce those brands, do you think the brand experience of the US Government, or the State of California, or a City Government, or a Water District public utility is also up for grabs?
On Tuesday, May 12th, a new documentary film called “Us Now” will launch online. “Us Now” is a documentary about the power of mass collaboration, government and the internet.
Want more clips? Click here for a boat load!
Current and emerging internet technologies are firmly based on concepts of collaboration. As people become more adept at online collaboration, and as we expand our habits of collaboration, what happens to governments that are bogged down in older forms of bureaucracy, especially top-down hierarchies?
From the “Us Now” blog:
The online launch of Us Now on the 12th of May will be marked by an event with Richard Sennett and Tom Watson MP in the UK and a simultaneous event at The Kennedy School of Government, Harvard. The events, coordinated by FutureGov, will be broadcast live online, please visit this site on the day for further details. From the 12th of May onwards the full film will be available to stream from this website.
I think these issues are relevant and urgent. The Obama campaign used some of these emerging technologies to great effect, and the Obama White House is expanding government transparency and collaboration tthrough online tools.
However, are state and local governments learning? How can we contribute to our communities in meaningful ways using these tools?