I spent February 2-4 in San Diego at the 11th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. Also attending was Council Member Corky Booze, County Supervisor John Gioia, and four City of Richmond staff members, including Senior Planner Lina Velasco, who was a panel member of the session “Essential Components of the 21st Century Community: Housing the Missing Middle.”

In a nutshell, this conference is about creating more livable and sustainable cities, an objective that some might call an indulgence in these times of economic challenges and high unemployment. However, speaker after speaker, from some of the most economically successful cities in America, recounted a recurring theme. As Mick Cornett, mayor of Oklahoma City said, “Jobs are going to go where the people live, and people are going to go where they want to live.”

Trying to recruit companies to bring jobs to your city is old school. The new way to attract jobs is to make your city attractive to the new entrepreneurs who value urban amenities and great places.

Another recurring theme was equity. Smart growth and sustainability can only be successful if it provides amenities, including affordable housing, for all. Providing transportation choices is one important way to do this. Needing a car to get to work drives up the cost both housing and transportation and disproportionately affects low income families and individuals.

Click here for the full program.

It’s also a good place for networking. EPA is one of the conference sponsors, and I got to discuss the Lauretzin Channel cleanup in Richmond with several EPA leaders. We’ll be meeting about it at EPA offices in San Francisco later this week.