Suresh K. Lodha & Richard A. Walker 
The Atlas of California [EPUB ebook] 
Mapping the Challenge of a New Era

California is at a crossroads. For decades a global leader, inspiring the hopes and dreams of millions, the state has recently faced double-digit unemployment, multi-billion dollar budget deficits and the loss of trillions in home values. This atlas brings together the latest research and statistics in a graphic form that gives shape and meaning to these numbers. It shows a new California in the making, as it maps the economic, social, and political trends of a state struggling to maintain its leadership and to continue to offer its citizens the promise of prosperity.


Among the world’s largest economies, California is the nation’s agricultural powerhouse, high tech crucible and leader in renewable energy. The state is the most populous and most diverse state in the continental U.S. Yet its infrastructure is coming under increasing pressure. Water supply systems are strained, the legendary highways are over capacity, and the celebrated system of public schooling is unable to offer affordable quality education at all levels. Health and welfare services, particularly for the poor, needy, disabled, and seniors, are at great risk.


This indispensable resource gives readers the tools they need to understand the transformation as California attempts to forge a new identity in the midst of unprecedented challenges.

Spis treści

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Photo Credits


Chapter One Land & People


Land & Nature

California’s geography sets it apart from the rest of North America. Its natural blessings have

been a source of wonder and wealth, its frequent earthquakes a challenge.


Public Lands & Parks

Half of California’s land is in public ownership, and much of that is protected in the most extensive system of

national, state, and local parks in the United States.


Colonialism & Native Californians

California was part of the Spanish Empire, then Mexico, before being annexed to the United States. Native

peoples were annihilated by Spaniards, Mexicans, and Americans alike, through forced removal, slave labor,

disease and massacres, and are still struggling to regain their rightful place in state life.


Population

California is the most populous state in the United States and for decades was among the fastest growing, due

to high immigration and birth rates.


Migration

For centuries, California has been a magnet for migrants, both domestic and foreign. They have come from

many places in search of a better life, escaping poverty, war, famine, and persecution—but often facing

hostility on arrival.


Unauthorized Immigration

California has the highest number of unauthorized immigrants of any state. Although their presence is

controversial, several industries depend on them to fill low-wage, low-skill jobs.


Chapter Two Politics, Governance, & Power


Government & Politics

Democracy in California has long suffered from unequal representation, a weak party system, and the power

of money in elections. But voting patterns are solidly Democratic have become more so in recent elections.


Budget & Taxation

California has the largest budget after the federal government but has suffered budget shortfalls, revenue

volatility, and reduced taxation, resulting in huge cuts during the recession and making planning difficult.


Government Finances

Tax revenues constitute roughly half of the general revenue of California state and local governments. Twothirds

of expenditure goes to education, health, welfare, and safety.


Military Power

California is the most militarized of states. It has been a strategic intellectual and technological center for the

military, and served as the Pacific base of operations in several major wars.


Crime & Incarceration

California’s prison population and funding for corrections have soared in the last 30 years, even though

violent crime rates have dropped. The US Supreme Court has ordered a reduction in the state’s prison

population to reduce overcrowding.


Chapter Three Economy & Industry


Economic Growth

California’s economic growth has long outpaced the rest of the country. With its vibrant and diverse industrial

tapestry, it is a model of economic innovation and prosperity.


Workforce

California’s prosperity has been built on its workforce, both in numbers and quality. Labor demand and

supply, skills, and wages have long exceeded the national average, feeding the state’s remarkable growth.


Business & Finance

California is home not only to globestraddling corporations with large management teams, but also to

thriving small businesses and start-ups. It has long been the second-largest center of finance in the country.


Agribusiness

California’s agribusiness is one of the agricultural wonders of the world, leading the country in the variety and

quantity of output, and setting the pace for modern farming and food production in the United States.


Technology

California is known around the world as a leader in technology and innovation. It has offered highly

favorable conditions for innovators to flourish and put new ideas into play.


Chapter Four Urban Areas


Cities & Metro Areas

California is highly urban, and the state’s cities and metro areas are among the nation’s largest, densest, and

most economically significant.


The Bay Area

San Francisco has long been world famous but is today part of a large, complex urban region: the Bay Area—

high-tech capital of the world and richest big city in the country.


Greater Los Angeles

Los Angeles is California’s largest city and the country’s second largest metropolis. It is popularly known

for its remarkable growth, sprawling landscape, and mixture of peoples, but is equally a manufacturing and

transportation powerhouse.


Real Estate

California runs on real-estate development. The scale of building is huge and property values high. After the

greatest real-estate bubble in history in the 2000s, the state suffered a devastating crash.


Highways & Transportation

California has one of the most advanced transportation systems in the world, including highways, airports,

seaports, and railroads. The challenges of city commuting are great, as are those of handling an immense flow

of goods, within and beyond state borders.


Chapter Five Water & Energy


Water Supply

Northern California has abundant rainfall and the Sierra a large snowpack; excess runoff is stored and moved

south to supply agriculture and cities in the southern half of the state.


Water Use

Water use exceeds natural supply in many parts of California, especially in drought years. Water conservation

has checked the growth of consumption, and it must continue.


Energy: Fossil Fuels

California has one of the lowest rates of energy consumption in the United States. Fossil fuels, mostly foreign

and domestic imports, dominate energy supply, despite efforts to develop alternative sources.


Energy: Electricity

Total electricity demand has been rising in California due to overall growth plus inland migration. Yet higher

prices, government policies, and technical change have kept per capita electricity consumption flat over the last

two decades.


Renewable Energy

California is a leading producer of renewable energy, but the goal of significantly increasing the share of

electricity generated by renewables faces many obstacles.


Chapter Six Environment


Climate Change

Global climate change is being felt in California in the form of rising average temperatures and sea level,

weather extremes, and more wildfires. The implications for water supply, flooding, and ecosystems are

potentially grave.


Carbon Emissions

California is a national leader in reducing carbon emissions through transportation planning, industrial

controls, and the use of renewable energy, making it one of the lowest emitters per capita of greenhouse gases

in the United States.


Air Pollution

Although California has made dramatic progress in reducing air pollution, a majority of the population

continues to breathe air that poses significant health risks.


Water Pollution

California’s surface, ground, and coastal waters suffer serious contamination from farms, cities, and industry,

jeopardizing health, recreation, and wildlife. Toxic chemicals pose risks to the public and the environment.


Chapter Seven Health & Education


Healthcare: Quality & Outcomes

Good health depends greatly on access to and quality of healthcare, on health behaviors, socioeconomic

conditions, and physical environment, which vary widely across California and create persistent disparities

between places and racial/ethnic groups.


Healthcare: Cost & Access

Healthcare costs have been rising rapidly, burdening families, employers, and governments. Yet California

ranks towards the bottom in per capita health spending, as well as in state Medicaid support, employer-based

coverage, and percentage of uninsured.


Pre-K Education

Despite its leadership in introducing a variety of early childhood education and support programs, California

provides preschool access to only half of its three and four year olds, and quality access to even fewer.


K–12 Education

California’s once-heralded K–12 public education system today ranks near the bottom in student achievement,

graduation rates, student–teacher ratio, and per-pupil funding. Greatly increased investment and commitment

are needed to put public schooling back on a sound footing.


Higher Education

California’s public universities, vital engines of economic and civic life, are in danger of failing to provide

affordable access to quality higher education. Can California rediscover its former commitment to public higher

education?


Chapter Eight Inequality & Social Divides


Income, Wealth, & Poverty

Income and wealth inequality have grown significantly in the last 30 years, fueled by stagnant wages, rising

assets values and corporate pay, as well as federal tax relief for the rich. Poverty is rampant in California

despite its wealth and prosperity.


Hunger & Homelessness

Millions of Californians go hungry every day and tens of thousands are homeless. This is one of the worst

records in the nation. Government food assistance programs that help mitigate hunger need to be strengthened.

Homeless people have little institutional support and often face hostility.


Race & Ethnicity

California enjoys a rich mix of people of different races and national origins, just one of four states where

minorities are the majority. Yet the participation of people of color in politics and business is much less than that

of Whites, and almost all suffer disproportionately from low incomes, poor health, and less education.


Gender & Sexual Orientation

California’s record of gender equity is good in education, moderate in wages and political representation, and

poor in business. The state has been a pioneer in the struggle for gay rights, but has suffered setbacks on the

question of equal rights to marriage.


Youth & Old Age

California’s young and old suffer disproportionately from deprivation, and many are ineligible for government

benefits because of inadequate measures of cost of living and need.


Chapter Nine C hallenges Ahead: A Glimpse into the Future

California’s glory resides in its prosperity but, in the face of multiple challenges, it needs to forge a new identity.


Chapter Ten Data Challenges

Data must be selected and interpreted with caution because of the challenges presented by inconsistency,

omissions, imperfections, and underlying assumptions.


Definition of Key Terms

Sources

Index

O autorze

Richard Walker is Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of many books, including The Conquest of Bread and The Country in the City.Suresh K. Lodha is Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Santa Cruz and coauthor of The Atlas of Global Inequalities.