As a GIS professional, perceiving the world through geography is my dominant lens. One of the principal tenants of Geography is Tobler’s First Law of Geography: Everything is related to everything else. But near things are more related than distant things. More and more, we live in neighborhoods with others like ourselves, mimicking Tobler’s “law.” [...]
The 2020 Presidential election was one for the history books, in many, many ways. While we await final precinct-level results I thought it would be informative to see the results mapped by various political districts. I have mapped the results below by county supervisor, state senate, and state assembly districts, as well as by the [...]
What a difference a year makes! In April 2019, official unemployment rates for the nine Coachella Valley cities were at historic lows. Confidence in the economy was high and an ever more prosperous future seemed probable. Ignorance is bliss. How could we ever have imagined that unemployment rates would nearly triple, in just one year? [...]
In an earlier blog, I discussed how the Coachella Valley is subsumed by the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Recently we teased the idea of succeeding and creating our own MSA, an idea that has been floating around the valley for quite some time. It turns out that MSAs must contain at least one [...]
Advocating for fundamental infrastructure to support and enhance entrepreneurship is a primary function of regional economic development. Access to high-speed, broadband internet is increasingly becoming an essential infrastructure. As more and more commerce, communication, education, and business workflows become virtual and remote, reliable and fast internet service has never been more necessary. The disruptions of [...]
This week we celebrate Economic Development Week. Since 2016, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) has emphasized the importance of economic development during a week in May: this year, from May 9-15. The ideals celebrated this week - of economic development standing at the core of well-being and quality of life - are embodied at [...]
The numbers are in! And it doesn't look good for California. The U.S. Census delivered state population data to President Biden that determine the apportionment of congressional seats. Congressional apportionment takes the new census population and divides it by 435, the number of seats in the House. Fast-growing states gain seats, while slow-growing or shrinking [...]
In my last blog, I discussed the staggering rise in median home prices in the valley. COVID stay-at-home restrictions and the desire to move to less congested locales unleashed an unexpected buying spree. But the historically low pace of new housing construction, locally and nationally, underlies the explosive rise in median home prices. This week [...]
A couple of years ago I was honored to represent CVEP as a speaker at the quarterly Market Watch Seminar series sponsored by Palm Springs Life. This seminar series presents a thorough examination of the residential real estate market. I would encourage readers to attend. Even if you are not a realtor, you will learn [...]
Before COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the nation’s economy, the official unemployment rate was 3.5%. As of Friday, March 5, the official rate now stands at 6.2%. Since last April, the nation has lost 9.5 million jobs, more jobs lost than during the Great Recession. But the official unemployment rate only represents the number of people [...]
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