Driving Informed Decision Making for San Diego’s Future

All in a Day’s Work for Equinox Center

By Trevor Callan
CEO, Callan Capital
Board Member, San Diego Social Venture Partners
Vice-Chair, Equinox Center

This summer, the City of San Diego unveiled its first ever recycled drinking water project. Fittingly, the unveiling occurred almost two years to the date of Equinox Center’s official founding.

An independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit policy center focused on how the San Diego region can achieve a more prosperous economy and healthy environment, Equinox Center was founded in 2008 through the support of San Diego Social Venture Partners. As the San Diego region prepares to add another 650,000 people by the year 2030, Equinox Center’s policy analysis, communications and convenings inform and engage the public and decision makers in crafting bold, intelligent solutions to our region’s growth challenges.

Seeing the recycled water project come to fruition was a gratifying moment for many of us involved with Equinox from the very beginning, as the organization had played an instrumental role in this outcome.

By conducting independent analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of recycled water, publishing a policy brief, and collaborating with a broad coalition of business, environmental, labor and community groups to disseminate its findings, Equinox Center helped encourage the San Diego City Council, Mayor Sanders and the San Diego Union-Tribune to reverse their earlier opposition to San Diego’s first recycled drinking water project. (Based in part on this success, Equinox Center was recently highlighted in national magazine YES! as a promising model to drive positive change in other regions across the United States.)

Part of Equinox’s success so far has been as a result of its strong network and spirit of collaboration, both of which are in its DNA as a result of its birth from the SDSVP network. For example, on September 14, 2011, Equinox Center will co- host a convening of our region’s top business leaders and policy makers, with the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC). The convening, “The Young & Restless: Winning the Race for America’s Best Talent,” will feature Joseph Cortright, a noted economist, Brookings Institution fellow and senior policy advisor to CEOs for Cities. Together, we’ll explore the question of how ensuring our region’s long-term competitiveness means being strategic about courting the “Young & Restless”—well-educated 25-34 year olds—tomorrow’s knowledge workers and entrepreneurs. (I encourage San Diego Social Venture Partners to attend!)

What are they looking for? According to Cortright’s research, this population is ditching the suburbs for urban neighborhoods at a rate of 2 to 1. They seek vibrant, walkable communities and multiple transportation options. They value culture, diversity and a high quality of life.

That means that in order to attract this demographic to the San Diego region, we need a new way of planning for the future. A more integrated approach toward economic development, transportation and land use can create vibrant, appealing communities to live and work while maintaining the high quality of life so many of us treasure here today.

This is precisely Equinox’s “sweet spot.” Evidence from its research shows that through intelligent policy making we can advance both our region’s economic and environmental goals. With the help of many SVP Partners over the past few years, Equinox is poised to do both. The organization has expanded its board of directors to include individuals involved in the real estate, health sciences, recreation and tourism industries, and has a new strategic plan and fundraising strategy. We continue to welcome the involvement of SVP members in Equinox’s work going forward, and I encourage you to attend one of our events or to follow us on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages.

For more information about Equinox Center, visit: http://www.equinoxcenter.org/.