The 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop gathered more than 460 attendees to discuss how planners and policymakers can maintain economic well-being and quality of life without the rapid population growth of past decades. Now in its 35th year, this annual event, presented by SCAG and the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy at the SCAG main office in downtown Los Angeles, featured three panels, three roundtable discussions, and a keynote address.
Highlights
Highlights of the 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop included the presentation and publication of a new report by SCAG demographers with insight into American Community Survey data released earlier in September by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data provide comprehensive data on Southern California’s social, demographic, economic, and housing conditions, capturing the region’s recovery following the pandemic. Event speakers discussed demographic trends in Southern California, providing recommendations for the region to expand the economy, improve household wealth, and improve quality of life in a new era of steady, rather than rapid, population growth.
Dowell Myers, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Population Dynamics Research Group, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
Kome Ajise, Executive Director, SCAG
Curt Hagman, Regional Council President, SCAG and Supervisor, County of San Bernardino
Genevieve Giuliano, Ph.D., Interim Dean and Distinguished Professor, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
9:20 a.m.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHECK-UP: THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE CURRENT GROWTH OUTLOOK
This annual panel shares and interprets the latest data and insights on the region and state’s demographics. The California Department of Finance will present the latest long-term demographic projections for California and its counties. SCAG will also report on the recently released 2023 American Community Survey demographic and socioeconomic indicators for the region.
MODERATOR: Beth Jarosz, Director of U.S. Programs, Population Reference Bureau
Walter Schwarm, Ph.D., Chief Demographer, California Department of Finance Demographic Research Unit
Echo Zheng, Ph.D., Regional Planner, SCAG
10:10 a.m.
WHAT DOES THE NEW GROWTH REALITY MEAN FOR REGIONS?
Three years of population decline in the region have given way to modest growth, but the outlook for population in Southern California—and an increasing number of United States and global regions—is significantly lower than a decade or two ago. Panelists will discuss how regions like Southern California should plan for a future different from the state’s long history of rapid growth, allowing stayers to stay, movers to move, families to have the number of children they want, workers to benefit from a strong and equitable economy, and everyone to enjoy a high quality of life.
MODERATOR: Egon Terplan, Senior Fellow, U.C. Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies and Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Rachel Franklin, Ph.D., Professor of Geographical Analysis, Newcastle University
Somjita Mitra, Ph.D., Chief Economist, California Department of Finance
Dowell Myers, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Population Dynamics Research Group, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
11:20 a.m.
EVOLVING DIVERSITY IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOODS
This panel will focus on the evolution of place and diversity at the neighborhood level in Southern California. Panelists will discuss the richness of Southern California neighborhoods while highlighting some historical and continuing challenges in promoting equity. Cultural diversity crosses neighborhood boundaries and contributes to the region’s demographic mosaic, but also raises questions of place-based identity and who gets to call a neighborhood home.
MODERATOR: Sandhya Kambhampati, Data and Graphics Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Annette Kim, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director, Spatial Analysis Lab, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
David Moctezuma, Ph.D., Doctoral Researcher, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy
12:15 p.m.
LUNCH
1:00 p.m.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Bill Fulton, Principal, William Fulton Group
1:45 p.m.
ROUNDTABLES
U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates and Projections
Eric Jensen, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Population Estimates and Coverage Measurement, U.S. Census Bureau
Getting to Know the Department of Finance Demographic Research Unit’s Data Hub: Population Estimates, Census Data, School Enrollment, and More
Jim Miller, Assistant Chief, California Department of Finance Demographic Research Unit
The Neighborhood Data for Social Change Platform
Elly Schoen, Data and Project Manager, USC Neighborhood Data for Social Change
Emily Phillips, Research Program Specialist, USC Neighborhood Data for Social Change
2:45 p.m.
EVENT WRAP UP
Keynote Speaker
Bill Fulton, FAICP
Author and Leading Expert in Urban Planning and Economic Development
The 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop will feature noted author and planning thought leader Bill Fulton, FAICP, as keynote speaker. Fulton’s keynote will respond to recent population projections for the region and state based on his perspective as a former mayor, planning director, and influential author. Taking lessons from other states, Fulton will discuss how Southern California can adjust to an era in which prosperity is no longer—and need not be—determined by the pace of population growth.
As one of California’s leading experts in urban planning and economic development, Fulton’s book Guide to California Planning is a standard urban planning textbook, and the national planning website Planetizen named Fulton as one of the 100 leading urban thinkers in the world. Fulton is also the former mayor of Ventura and former director of planning and economic development for the city of San Diego.
In addition to work with the William Fulton Group, Fulton is editor and publisher of California Planning & Development Report, the authoritative information source for urban planners in California; a Visiting Policy Designer at the University of California, San Diego Design Lab; and a Fellow at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. In the past, Fulton also was director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University, vice president for policy and implementation at the advocacy group Smart Growth America, and principal at Placeworks. Fulton has authored eight books, most recently Place and Prosperity: How Cities Help Us Connect and Innovate, published in 2022.
American Community Survey 2023 1-year Estimates
The 2023 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year data, released on Sept. 12, 2024, provide comprehensive data on Southern California’s social, demographic, economic, and housing conditions, capturing the region’s recovery following the pandemic.
SCAG’s “Post-Pandemic Housing and Economic Trends in Southern California from the American Community Survey 2023 1-year Estimates” report, published during the 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop hosted by SCAG and the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy on Sept. 24, analyzes the 2023 ACS 1-year data to compare trends in the region to California and the United States for various topics over the past decade and the past three years. The 2023 U.S. Census Bureau’s ACS 1-year estimates data released Sept. 12 will inform planning decisions and investments related to housing, transportation, and social conditions.
More than 460 people attended the 2024 Southern California Demographic Workshop on Sept. 24 for a fact-based discussion about how to plan for the future of Southern California as demographic trends continue to diverge from the rapid population growth of past decades. The 35th annual event was hosted by SCAG and the USC Price School of Public Policy.
