UC Davis experts: Growth

The UC Davis faculty has a broad expertise regarding growth. If you need information on a topic not listed, please contact Claudia Morain at the UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu.

Growth and the environment

Economics, community and planning

California's potential for economic growth
Impact on social services

History and politics

GROWTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Impact on agriculture

UC Davis political scientist Al Sokolow is a leading researcher of the effects of population growth and urbanization on California agriculture, particularly the conversion of farmland. He can discuss trends in farmland loss trends; state and local government efforts to protect farmland, farmer-urban neighbor interactions; and particular protection policies and tools, including agricultural easements and the Williamson Act. His expertise extends to other states' agricultural-growth issues and farmland protection policies. He is conducting a national study with the American Farmland Trust on the impacts and effectiveness of agricultural easement programs. Contact: Al Sokolow, Human and Community Development, (530) 752-0979, ajsokolow@ucdavis.edu.

Water wars and other social issues

UC Davis sociologist John Walton can talk about the history and issues behind Los Angeles securing water sources from the Owens Valley. An expert on the political economy of development, Walton can also discuss the broader sociological issues behind the state's growth and the social rebellions it has produced. He is the author of "Western Times and Water Wars: State, Culture and Rebellion in California" (1992), which received an award from the California Historical Society. Contact: John Walton, Sociology, (831) 659-1519, jtwalton@ucdavis.edu.

Depleting California's resources

American studies professor Michael L. Smith can discuss how rates of consumption, not just sheer numbers of people, are affecting California's natural resources. Smith, an American historian who specializes in the social role of technology, teaches about and researches the relationship between social and natural environments. He is author of "Pacific Visions: California Scientists and the Environment, 1850-1915" (1987). Contact: Michael L. Smith, American Studies, (530) 752-7196, mlsmith@ucdavis.edu.

Human density and mammal extinction

UC Davis anthropology professor Alexander Harcourt can talk about the relationship between human density and extinctions of large mammals. He has studied large mammal extinctions in national parks, including those in California. "We showed that human density around Western parks correlated with rate of extinctions in the parks," Harcourt says. "I would say that's a finding very directly relevant to California's increasing human population." He studies the biology of extinction, conservation biology and the evolutionary biology of both human behavior and primate behavior. Contact: Alexander Harcourt, Anthropology, (530) 752-0670, ahharcourt@ucdavis.edu.

ECONOMICS, COMMUNITY AND PLANNING

California's potential for economic growth

Despite dire prognoses for the state's economic future, California tops the rest of the nation in its potential to generate productivity and wealth, says UC Davis growth economist Giovanni Peri. "What drives growth is what California has: a continued potential for innovation and the human capital gathered closely together in places such as the Bay Area," he says. Peri studies the patents produced between 1975 and 2000 and which regions and states in the Western world are most successful in producing them. Most of the patents, which capture new ideas, are in the biotechnology, computer and telecommunication fields. Contact: Giovanni Peri, Economics, (530) 752-3033, gperi@ucdavis.edu.

Impact on social services

UC Davis Cooperative Extention Specialist David Campbell can speak to the various impacts on local social service systems from state population growth. He can specifically talk about issues with the social welfare system and how growth affects community development. For example, there is a growing need for intermediary organizations, such as faith-based organizations, that can build bridges between immigrant/refugee groups and local social service systems. Campbell directs the California Communities Program, a UC outreach effort that works with citizens throughout the state to develop their leadership, strengthen community self-governance, and enhance local and regional economies. Contact: Dave Campbell, Human and Community Development, (530) 754-4328, dave.c.campbell@ucdavis.edu.

HISTORY AND POLITICS

Politics of growth

UC Davis political scientist Al Sokolow can talk about the politics of California's population growth, including its geographical and demographic ramifications; consequences for the balance of state and local government responsibilities; possible effects on future political campaigns and gubernatorial agendas; and the relationship to SMART GROWTH principles. He can also compare California with other states in how they have responded to rapid growth. Sokolow has expertise in local and state government, state and local finances, and growth and land use. Contact: Al Sokolow, Human and Community Development, (530) 752-0979, ajsokolow@ucdavis.edu.

State history and growth

UC Davis historian Louis Warren says the history of California is in many ways the history of growth. He teaches about particulars of 20th century California history: immigration, environmental issues and demographic impacts. A specialist in environmental history, Warren can talk about the no-growth and slowth-growth movements, as well as anti-tax groups as part of the no-growth trend. Warren, the UC Davis W. Turrentine Jackson Chair in Western U.S. History, wrote "The Hunter's Game: Poachers and Conservationists in Twentieth-Century America" (1997), which won the Western Heritage Award for Outstanding Non-fiction Book from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center. Contact: Louis Warren, History, (530) 752-1633, lswarren@ucdavis.edu.

Chicanos, labor and the vote

California's changing demographics and term limits have given Chicanos unprecedented power in the state, says UC Davis labor and health economist Adela de la Torre. Director of the Chicana/o Studies Program at UC Davis, De la Torre can talk about a range of issues regarding the Latino vote in this election, both in California and nationally. These include redistricting, the relationship between Chicano political power and federal manpower and health programs, Hispanic labor and income issues, and the influence of the California Legislature's Chicano Caucus on state resource allocation. Contact: Adela de la Torre (Spanish speaker), Chicana/o Studies, (530) 752-3904, adelatorre@ucdavis.edu.

The Asian influence

Even though there are more Latin American immigrants in California, Asians are actually the fastest growing minority in the state, which has implications for education, health care, legal rights, race relations and other social issues, says Bill Hing, UC Davis professor of law and Asian American studies. California is attracting Asian immigrants from abroad and other states, as relatives and friends living in the state have encouraged them to come. Hing points to the dramatic increase of diversity among Asians as a major factor in contributing to the cosmopolitan quality of life for Californians, especially in the Central Valley. Hing is author of "Making and Remaking Asian America Through Immigration Policy" (1994) and "To Be an American" (1997). His new book, "History of U.S. Immigration Policy," will be published this year. Contact: Bill Hing, School of Law and Asian American Studies, (530) 754-9377, bohing@ucdavis.edu.

Claudia Morain at the UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu

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Last updated Aug. 15, 2006