Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias
Institute for Regional Studies of the CaliforniasThe Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias has under way a number of applied research topics on issues related to the U.S.-Mexican border region and borders elsewhere. These projects are carried out by teams of researchers drawn from the faculty of San Diego State University, Mexican universities, and other regional and international universities. In addition, most of the projects involve practitioners and community members. A list and short description of these projects follows.
This project is developing quality of life indicators for the border region that includes the County of San Diego and the municipalities of Tijuana, Playas de Rosarito, and Tecate. In recent years, transborder integration has proceeded rapidly in terms of trade and economic development, cross-border cooperative transportation planning, local government cooperation, migration flows, cross-border collaboration of higher education and civil society organizations, popular culture and fine arts, and many other areas. Increasingly, the binational area has been characterized as one region, particularly since the implementation of the North America Free Trade Agreement beginning in 1994.
This project, through a binational team of researchers and stakeholders, is developing data sets for indicators that are relevant to both sides of the border. These data are generated and maintained by government and private agencies and periodically updated. When the quantitative data sets for quality of life indicators are complete, the research team will then conduct survey research on both sides of the border to test how perceptions of individuals compare with the quantitative data. The indicators and survey results will be published in a booklet designed for a wide audience and will be updated periodically.
This project is a series of related subprojects, some of which have been ongoing for a number of years, while others are in the beginning phases. The long-term purpose of the project is to support efforts to develop a binational watershed management plan to protect the environment and promote sustainable development in this complex and dynamic transborder region. Components of this project include:
The Alamar River Project (completed). This applied research project studied this river valley on the eastern edges of urban Tijuana and recommended creation of a river park for creation of green space, restoration of habitat, flood control, watershed protection and enhanced groundwater recharge, and improvement of land values and urban development possibilities. The Alamar River is an integral part of the Tijuana River watershed, feeding into the Tijuana River and Estuary downstream and connecting to the Cottonwood River and Tecate River upstream. Carried out by a team of SDSU, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), and Arizona State University students under the supervision of SDSU and UABC faculty, the project was undertaken at the request of IMPlan, the municipal planning department of Tijuana. Click here to view the Alamar River Corridor Final Report in PDF format.
Monograph of Tecate. This project convened a team of U.S. and Mexican researchers to develop a base document for the municipality of Tecate, covering basic topics such as satellite imagery, environment and urban river protection, history, public health, economy, infrastructure, governance, and others. Preliminary research results were presented at a public forum in Tecate in the spring of 2001 and completed studies will be published as a bilingual monograph early in 2002. The primary purpose of the project is to provide stakeholders in Tecate with basic information to help them guide the city and municipality in the years to come. Tecate, faced with urban sprawl from Tijuana from the east, still preserves high quality of life although it is now beginning to grow rapidly. This project is being conducted in cooperation with the Fundación La Puerta of Tecate and researchers from SDSU, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), and the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). As a part of this project, IRSC also organized a forum in Tecate to discuss different models for urban rivers. The proceedings are available in the following PDF files: Urban Rivers in Tecate and Tijuana: Strategies for Sustainable Cities and Los ríos urbanos de Tecate y Tijuana: Estrategias para ciudades sustentables.
State of the Environment of the Tijuana River Basin. This project, ongoing since 1996, developed a binational research team, with the core group from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and San Diego State University, to produce a report on the state of the environment of the Tijuana River Basin and to engage in a number of outreach activities. The project has also engaged stakeholders from the public and private sectors, the NGO community, and Native American groups in the process. To date, a draft report has been produced, a series of workshops has been held, and preliminary results were presented at a public forum in Tijuana.
The ultimate goal of this project is to provide research and information that will support efforts to develop a management strategy for this binational basin.
This study is to identify ecologically sensitive areas that cross the border
in the Tijuana-Tecate-San Diego region that would be suitable for conservation
and protection. Lack of green areas and protected areas in the Tijuana-Tecate
region, the need for a green buffer zone between the rapidly expanding urban
areas of Tijuana and Tecate, and the need to link protected areas in southern
San Diego County with critical areas in northern Baja California through
habitat and wildlife corridors are all concerns of this project. The study
will also review the literature on transborder protected areas, legal structures
and land use, and possible implementation structures for protection of sensitive
areas in San Diego and Baja California. This project is being conducted
in cooperation with Fundación La Puerta and other regional stakeholders.
Urban River Planning
Tools Using Internet Mapping: A Case Study with the Tecate River
This project is developing essays on a range of topics to provide baseline information and analysis on the greater Imperial Valley-Mexicali region. The purpose of the project is to provide high quality and reliable information that will enable readers to better understand the complex interactions of human systems and the natural environment of the region. The research team includes researchers from SDSU, public agencies on both sides of the border, community members, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF), and the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC). The essays are written in non-technical language to facilitate their use by members of the community, researchers, students, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The essays will be published as a monograph by the Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias and San Diego State University Press. The monograph will initially be presented at a major workshop to be held in the region in late 2001 or early 2002.
This project is a collaborative project of IRSC, San Diego State University’s California Center for Border and Regional Economic Studies in Calexico, the Southwest Center for Environmental Research and Policy, COLEF, and UABC.
Since 1996, IRSC has worked with the California Environmental Protection Agency and its Department of Toxic Substances Control to conduct binational training workshops on pollution prevention and hazardous waste management practices in the border region. Participants include industry personnel, government agencies, customs brokers, university researchers and students, and other interested individuals. Training topics have included hazardous waste reduction, California hazardous waste classification, import and export of hazardous waste, pollution prevention in the vehicle service industry, and alternatives to toxic solvents in cleaning applications. These workshops have been held in San Diego, Tijuana, Mexicali, Imperial Valley, Ensenada, and Tecate. Some ten workshops were offered as part of the 2001 series.
The Environmental Technology and Service Opportunities in the Baja California Peninsula project seeks to renew interest in the Mexican market, particularly in the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur, where environmental quality impacts conditions in California. The project also seeks to provide business opportunities for California companies through research and outreach. The project produced a report that incorporated results from the project team's research on market potential, private and public financing options, project leads, and input from participants in a forum held in Tijuana on April 26, 2002. The forum brought together a diverse group of representatives from California companies, Mexican government agencies at the city, state, and federal levels, Mexican companies, and other interested individuals. In addition to the forum, a trade show was ehld for California companies to display information about their products and services and a field trip was organized for participants to become more familiar with the Californian-Baja Californian border region, including the municipalities of Tijuana, Tecate, and Mexicali.
Building on the ISO 14031 guideline, this project develops a suite of environmental indicators that maquiladoras in Tijuana can use to measure their environmental performance and communicate this performance to stakeholders outside the company in the regional community. The indicators are comprised of internal measurements related to management and operations, as well as external environmental condition indicators that communicate the state of the environment. For a maquiladora operating in Tijuana, the environmental condition indicators provide a context for prioritizing the environmental criteria used in making business decisions. The operational and managerial indicators also provide a mechanism that can help businesses satisfy the demands of community members engaged in right-to-know movements. Finally, by providing a tool for demonstrating environmental stewardship and corporate responsibility, the indicators may facilitate regulatory relief programs that allow regulators to focus on polluters and reward good corporate behavior.
This web site was developed with the support of the Border XXI Environmental Information Resources workgroup. It serves as a gateway to environmental information for the U.S.-Mexican border region through an Inventory of Web Sites, a Directory of Organizations, and a search engine. The Inventory consists of links to web sites. These links are organized by media (environmental topic), organization from where the information originated, and the region that is covered by the information. The Directory contains contact information about organizations that may or may not have a web site and descriptions of their past, present, and planned future activities.
This project, carried out jointly with the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS) and with the participation of researchers from other Mexican universities, is characterizing natural and human systems of the Gulf of California. The goal of the project is to provide baseline information and analysis to support development of a management plan for the region. The project will include a workshop in the fall of 2001 and publication of a monograph.
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Last update August 31, 2004