Region Matters

 

June 17, 2014  Vol. 4 - Issue 28  

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Hello CRC Community,
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Jonathan London

CRC Director

We hope you enjoy this week's edition of Region Matters.  We have a lot of great info to share this week, especially from our friends and colleagues.  Please keep sending your news and updates our way! 
 
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IN THIS ISSUE
CRC Update
CRC in the News
Regionally-Relevant Reports and Resources
Regionally-Relevant Events
Employment/Internship Opportunities
About Us: The UC Davis Center for Regional Change
CRC Update

CRC and the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC)

The CRC's RAC met on June 12 for its bi-annual convening.  RAC meetings are crucial opportunities for the CRC to get feedback on its activities and input regarding future strategies from leaders in the government, non-profit, business, and media sectors from across California.  After opening remarks by RAC Chair Dennis Pendleton (Dean, UC Davis Extension), College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean Helene Dillard welcomed the RAC members and offered her vision of the College as well as the CRC's place in it.  The meeting involved presentations and discussions about the CRC's strategic planning process, its new communications framework and several presentations from CRC staff on their exciting work in civic engagement, youth empowerment, urban gardens/soil lead, and regional planning.  The next meeting of the RAC will be held in the fall of 2014 and will include the presentation of the CRC's new strategic plan under development this summer.

 

 CRC in the News

Study on Food System Workers by Professor Chris Benner in SF Gatechris benner

New research by UC Davis Professor and CRC Executive Committee member Chris Benner, in collaboration with author Saru Jayaraman and the UC Berkeley Food Labor Research Center, developed the recent report titled "Shelved: How Wages and Working Conditions for California's Food Retail Workers have Declined as the Industry has Thrived."   This report finds that one out of three grocery workers in California is receiving some type of public assistance while one in five rations the food he or she helps sell.  In what's being billed as one of the largest surveys ever done of the state's grocery industry workforce of nearly 384,000, the study found that the median wage at unionized stores fell from $19.38 in 2000 to $15.17 an hour in 2012, with workers at non-union shops earning less than $10 an hour.  According to Benner, "Workers who sell food in California are almost twice as likely as the general population to not be able to afford to eat the food they sell" (as quoted in the SF Gate). 

 

Regionally-Relevant Reports and Resources

Report: Foot Traffic Ahead

On June 17, Smart Growth America will release Foot Traffic Ahead: Ranking Walkable Urbanism in America's Largest Metros, a report that includes both current rankings and future trends of America's walkable urban places, or WalkUPs.  Foot Traffic Ahead examines what percent of a metro area's office and retail space is collected in walkable places.  The report also shows the connection between walkable places, education levels and regional wealth.  In addition, the study examines a market trend that indicates the end of sprawl among the highest ranked metros.  For more information or to join the live-streamed release of the report, click here.

 

EJ in Action Blog: Get Plugged in to Water Quality

Please find the latest blog post, "There's Something Different About the Jordan River" by Seung-Min Kang of the Environmental Protection Agency's Urban Waters Program.  Kang shares how every day technology, such as smart phones and social media, encourages youth to engage in their natural environment in Salt Lake City.  The photos, videos, and insights that Salt Lake City residents post about the Jordan River are shared publicly, giving individuals the ability to voice their concerns about water quality issues accessibly.

  

Public Political Ecology Website

The Public Political Ecology Lab at the University of Arizona has an updated website with new and exciting content.  They are featuring a special focus blog and photo-essay series titled "Political Ecology of Bordered Spaces."  The site also offers a new video by Lucy Jarosz discussing her perspective on public political ecology.   Check out the website where you'll find other resources to support engaged scholarship in political ecology.

 

Regionally-Relevant Events

Exhibition: The Valley/El Valle: Photo-essays from CA's Heartland

San Francisco's City Hall offers a new art exhibition featuring over 100 diverse photographs depicting contemporary life in the state's breadbasket, vintage images of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement and so much more.

Date: Tuesday - June 17 (Opening Night)

Time: 5:30-7:30pm

Place: Ground Floor - San Francisco City Hall

This event is free and open to the public.

 

Tech for Justice Hack-a-thon

The first dispute resolution hack-a-thon with Code for America tackling access to justice issues through technology will take place this month in San Francisco specifically addressing dispute resolution.

Date: June 21-22

Time: See website

Place: 155 Ninth Street - San Francisco

 

Webinar: Environmental Health Literacy (EHL)

What do everyday people need to know about how the environment affects their health? In this webinar, hosted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, we will hear from two recognized experts who will set the context for EHL by highlighting the relationship between health literacy and improved health outcomes, as well as how other fields contribute to EHL research.

Date: Tuesday - June 24

Time: 1-2pm

For more information and to register prior to the webinar (required), please click here.

 

Webinar: Air Sensor Technology

The Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a webinar titled "Air Sensor Technology - State of the Science" intended for local, state and tribal air quality officials, environmental scientists, citizen scientists and sensor developers.
Date: Tuesday - July 8

Time: 1-2:30pm EDT

For more information, click here. To join the webinar, please click here.

 

 Employment/Internship Opportunities

ClimatePlan Director Needed

ClimatePlan, a leading California network of environmental, social justice, equity, transportation, housing and public health organizations, is seeking their next Director to provide visionary leadership for the coming years.  ClimatePlan has been at the forefront of implementing SB 375, a groundbreaking California law that requires metropolitan regions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through smarter transportation investments and transit-oriented development.  See the full job description here. 

 

About Us: The UC Davis Center for Regional Change

The UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC) produces innovative research to create healthy, sustainable, prosperous, and equitable regions in California and beyond.  For media inquiries and other questions, please contact us at (530) 752-3007.  For general questions, please email crcinfo@ucdavis.edu.  Click here to read more about the CRC.