California Metropatterns: A Regional Agenda for Community and Stability in California

Abstract:     
This research identifies the suburban typology of California through a study of the social and fiscal disparities within the state's metropolitan areas. Municipal tax base and other demographic data, such as poverty rates measured at the school-level, are used to show wide variations in the capacities of suburban municipalities to provide local public services. The results show that 83% percent of California's residents live in municipalities that either show clear signs of current fiscal and social stress or are at-risk of such difficulties in the near future. A range of regional fiscal, planning, and governance reforms are also evaluated.

Keywords: California, metropolitan, land use, planning structural reform, polarization, governmental reform, regional equity, infrastructure, sprawl, transportation

JEL Classifications: E61, E62, H20, H71, H73, I22, J10, O10, O20, R10

Working Paper Series