2019 Regional Conference & General Assembly

Post November 22, 2020

May 1-3
JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa

We would like to thank all attendees, speakers and sponsors who attended SCAG’s 54th SCAG Regional Conference and General Assembly, held at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA, May 1-3, 2019. We enjoyed meeting with you and hearing your presentations; we hope that your time at the conference was stimulating and rewarding.

This year’s theme, ”Beyond Boundaries,” is about transcending the jurisdictional boundaries of individual cities and counties to plan for the whole region. The event’s panel topics will lay the foundation for Connect SoCal – the 2020-2045 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy and will explore what it means to truly connect a region of 191 cities, identify paths to strengthening leadership and community-building around traffic safety, and provide tangible strategies for harnessing new technologies to benefit everyone.

Nearly 1,000 of Southern California’s most influential leaders and innovators are expected to attend, including local elected officials, CEOs, business and civic leaders, transportation and environmental stakeholders, local government staff and others. In addition to providing unbeatable networking opportunities, the conference will send attendees home with fresh insights and new resources to help them better address future challenges in their own communities.

Highlights

SCAG’s 2018-2019 Year in Review (High-Definition) Video

View Photo Gallery

Student Showcase

Please join us for the 2019 Student Showcase, taking place as a breakout session in Desert Salons 1-5 at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 2. Some of the SCAG region’s most outstanding students will present exciting and innovative research and planning work on a number of the region’s greatest challenges and opportunities. Come take a look at the featured projects, and vote on which you think are best! Your votes will determine the Audience Award (and accompanying cash prizes) for competing students.

STORY MAPS

The Evolving Field of Digital Freight Matching Technologies and the Role of Geographic Information Systems

An overview of environmental issues facing the supply chain industry and how geospatial network analytics can provide solutions to these issues in the form of digital freight matching.

Earthquake Preparedness: Are we prepared for the next great shake?

An exploration of the regional impacts of a seismic event along the San Andreas Fault on the SCAG region, the importance municipal Hazard Mitigation Plans, and the utilization of regional resources to help cities prepare for the inevitability of a high intensity earthquake.

Geographic Eligibility and Financial Feasibility of the New Tax Increment Financing Tools

An assessment of the efficacy of tax increment financing tools to provide funding for the production of affordable housing in the SCAG region, including their policy weaknesses and recommendations to strengthen them at the state level.

Homelessness and Environmental Injustice

An exploration of the relationship between environmental injustice, regional homelessness, and best practices.

Southern California Expansion

An exploration of how improvements to transportation and residential land use can promote the development of more sustainable communities in Los Angeles County using EPA principles of smart growth.

POSTERS

Congestion Pricing for Capacity, Climate, or Communities?

An examination of equity, environmental justice, and policy considerations of congestion pricing on the I-710 corridor.

How 2040 Transit Priority Areas Affect Transit Access Outcomes for Low-Wage Workers in the SCAG Region

An analysis of how planned improvements to the 2012 Transit Priority Areas in the 2016-2040 RTP/SCS affect the transit accessibility of low- and high-wage jobs in the SCAG region and to understand if the planned transit priority areas offer greater transit access to low- or high-wage jobs at both the residence and workplace.

Investigating Un/Loading Related Parking Citations and the Changing Transportation Uses of Streets

An analysis to determine whether citations typically related to un/loading (double parking, parking at bus stops etc.) occur more frequently in commercial, residential, or industrial zones, to identify hot spots where implementing more short term parking and/or un/loading zones should be investigated, and whether shifting use patterns of businesses and housing demands changes in infrastructure.

Mobility on Zelzah Avenue in Northridge: A Community Based Urban Design Project

A project to improve mobility, safety, and accessibility for active modes of transportation through evidence-based community design on Zelzah Avenue in Northridge.

Reducing Urban Heat Islands and Improving Quality of Life One Pavement at a Time

An exploration of the efficacy of replacing existing non-porous and non-reflective pavements with porous-reflective pavements to reduce urban heat islands, reduce noise levels, reduce air pollution, and reduce maintenance.

Safety Leadership Symposium

Traffic safety is a serious issue in Southern California. On average, more than 1,500 people die and 136,000 people are injured in collisions every year, and most collisions are happening on local streets – not freeways. Many of these injuries and deaths can be prevented through local education or enforcement strategies, or by designing safer streets.

Elected officials are invited to join us to explore regional traffic safety issues at a special pre-conference Safety Leadership Symposium on Wednesday, May 1, from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Expert panelists will highlight policy and implementation tools available to local governments to help improve safety.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Agenda

View the Conference Agenda (.pdf)

View the Traffic Safety Leadership Symposium Agenda (.pdf)

Download the Regional Council Meeting Agenda (.pdf)

Supplemental Report: Employment Agreement for Executive Director
Attachment to RC Agenda Item No. 1

PLEASE NOTE: The Regional Council meeting on Thursday, May 2 is open to the public at no cost. To participate in any Regional Conference and General Assembly activity (Breakout Sessions, Panel Discussions/Presentations, Sustainability Awards Luncheon, Reception, or Meals) you must be registered for the conference. On-site/walk-in registration will be available 8:00 a.m., Thursday, May 2, 2019.

Download the General Assembly Meeting Agenda Packet (.pdf)

Keynote Speaker

LEA ENDRES
Co-Founder & CEO, NationBuilder

Lea Endres is an entrepreneur, educator and human rights advocate. A renowned facilitator, she has spent most of her life working to make the tools of leadership available to everyone.

Lea’s commitment to leadership began as a fifteen-year-old working with the Oakland-based California Association of Student Councils. Hooked on the idea that a well-organized community could accomplish anything, she spent the next few decades training people all over the world – from mayors in Japan to teachers in Compton. She ran education programs at WorldLink Foundation and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights before helping to found Green for All, an organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy. Inspired by the internet’s revolutionary potential to make leadership and community building easier and more accessible, Lea ultimately joined Jim Gilliam and Jesse Haff in creating NationBuilder. She served as the company’s Chief of Staff and then President, before becoming CEO in 2017.