Voice: Asking the big questions about what a future desert economy can look like

The coronavirus pandemic has challenged every family and further highlighted the disparities facing our region’s most economically disadvantaged communities. The lack of stable housing, clean water, reliable transportation, accessible healthcare and economic mobility were problems long before this current crisis, and they will remain problems long after if leaders do not look for long-term, systemic solutions.

President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan gives communities across the nation hope that after this pandemic, and ideally through it, investments will be directed to help them recover stronger than they were before with programs that prioritize sustainability and racial equity. What might this look like for the communities of the Salton Sea region?

Alianza Coachella Valley and the Center for Social Innovation are hosting meetings starting March 10 to find an answer. We’ve invited a group of elected leaders, researchers, economic development experts and community members to meet virtually for a discussion on one overarching question: How do you foster economic mobility and equity in a rural desert economy."

One important framework to consider as a way forward is that of environmental justice, the principle that all people—regardless of where they live, their social status or their race—should be able to enjoy an environment that is conducive to a healthy livelihood.

The inequities seen in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys are a consequence of historical neglect from entrenched political and economic systems that diminish the self-determination of communities of color and marginalize them along lines of race, immigration status and poverty. The Salton Sea, as a prime example, was created in 1905 through government neglect and is now deteriorating due to the government’s failure to prioritize the interests of communities of color.

The 2013 report from the UC Davis Center for Regional Change, “Revealing the Invisible Coachella Valley,” showed that poor environmental conditions in our region are most evident in communities with higher rates of poverty and unemployment, limited English proficiency and concentrations of non-white residents.

In the eastern Coachella Valley, the people most impacted are primarily farmworkers, who live in mobile home parks (there are about 123 mobile home park communities in the east valley). These parks are not connected to municipal water systems and thus their residents are exposed to arsenic-contaminated water. These people live in a food desert, despite the abundant surrounding agriculture, and they have a fragile safety net. These communities are the ones least able to comfortably shelter in-home and adapt to the loss of income resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As our region prepares to recover from COVID-19, state, county and local leaders should look at the Salton Sea region as an area that exemplifies the changes in systems and policy needed for our most vulnerable populations to recover. State-committed dollars for Salton Sea projects should be seen as one of the key strategic vehicles to drive economic recovery for the region.

The money devoted to the Salton Sea is dedicated to narrowly prescribed purposes and should advance elements of the “Build Back Better” plan and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order N-82-20 emphasizing the role of infrastructure in recovery, our ability to build renewable energy supply chains, the advancement of multi-benefit approaches that protect the environment, public health and enhanced economic mobility.

We have an opportunity to position our region for recovery and achieve lasting benefits for the community by supplementing Salton Sea projects with fundamental pieces that incorporate better lake access, community amenities and other elements that meet the needs of the people living closest to the sea.

If you are interested in participating in future meetings, send an email to info@alianzacv.org.

Silvia Paz is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Alianza Coachella Valley. She holds a master of public policy degree in economic development and transportation from Harvard University. She can be reached at silvia@alianzacv.org.