Opinion: San Diego’s struggle to envision the common good for our community

Is San Diego on the right track? Whose responsibility is it to decide? As good citizens in a participatory democracy, we must be involved citizens.

Every few decades the common good needs to be examined to determine if the agenda is still true for the time we are living in. As divisive as we are in this country, the struggle to identify an agenda that benefits everyone in society rather than just a few people’s self-interests is one of the biggest issues of our time.

The aspects of society that impact us all like housing, the environment, safety, health, wellness and education are part of the common good. We also need plans for disasters like fire, drought and pandemics. The common good is taken into consideration as a part of city planning documents like the General Plan.

Our region has changed demographically, economically and culturally. How we interpret, approach and apply the principles of the common good changes, and not always for the good. 

Susan Golding was mayor of San Diego from 1992 to 2000. Her accomplishments put San Diego on the map. A one-stop permit process was created, the ground-breaking Multiple Species Conservation Program was established, and a bigger focus was made on growing the bi-national economy with Mexico.

She also launched the Renaissance Commission/Livable Neighborhoods initiative to focus on neighborhoods, including those that suffered from disinvestment. Overall she helped usher in a more diversified economy that created a strong foundation for San Diego’s success and future.

At that time the majority of the economy was the military, businesses that supported it and tourism. San Diego business and residential property owners basically got what they wanted. Business fees, taxation and regulations were cut.

San Diego was comprised of a largely white population. Retired military made up a significant portion. White, conservative and older citizens created the Common Good agenda at that time.

The diversification of the economy crushed San Diego’s reputation as a sleepy Navy town. It became one of the top biotech and tourism destinations in the country. As the economy diversified so did its population.

The diversified economy and a younger population helped shift the region from a Republican-led government to a Democrat one, which created the common good agenda during that time.

Unfortunately, decades of underfunding and some poor land use decisions, plus the Great Recession and the global pandemic, have led to large deficits in the city budget and the employee pension program. Also, there is a significant deficit in the capital improvement program that funds streets, storm drainage systems, libraries, parks and other public facilities, including Balboa Park. These are things that the citizens of San Diego desperately want funded.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a role in our current situation but it did not necessarily uncover new problems, rather it brought a new sense of urgency to the problems we have not yet resolved. Those include social justice, economic disparity, healthy communities, housing and climate change. All of these are connected, and how we design the infrastructure, both physical and social, are part of the solution.

We are also currently living in a time with tremendous backlash to the progress that has been made over the last 60 years in diversity, equal opportunity and justice. History has shown that the United States and San Diego have had struggles like this in the past. Once the backlash has been overcome we will need to create the common good agenda for the current time.

It seems like it would be a no-brainer to prioritize the common good agenda but many times this can require the sacrifice of resources and/or liberty, which being the freedom-loving Americans that we are, can be a challenge. Once we agree on the agenda we have to be willing to pay for what we want.

In historian Vanessa S. Williamson’s new book, the The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History, the story begins with the Boston Tea Party. The patriots who threw the tea into the Boston Harbor were “not opposing a tax hike but rather a corporate tax cut.” This was a bailout by the British government for the floundering East India Company. This story has been changed and used to try to make the case that Americans object to paying taxes.

Nobody likes to pay taxes but Americans aren’t anti-tax. We do want to make sure that the taxes that we agree to pay are being spent the way they are intended. This requires trust between the citizens and those they elect.

Scandinavian countries are known to have a high rate of taxation yet their ranking on the World Happiness Report consistently positions them at the top. The key happiness indicators include financial stability, health, education, work-life balance, environmental quality and social connections.

Granted, we are not a homogenous society like Scandinavia but they do provide a model for success that could be modified to fit our society if that is what we want. Scandinavians have high trust in their government because their taxes consistently pay for the things that make their lives better.

In order to understand the common good there is a need for engagement and participation in the civic conversation; the need to know and understand one another. Together we need to explore, plan and determine how to pay for what we as a society need and want. The common good for a 21st century San Diego must be the framework for our decision making.

As futurist Buckminster Fuller said, “We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.”

Michael J. Stepner is a former San Diego City Architect and professor emeritus of the New School of Architecture and Design. He is the recipient of the 2024 AIA San Diego Lifetime Achievement Award. Mary Lydon, the principal of Lydon Associates, has held leadership roles within the Urban Land Institute, the Downtown San Diego Partnership, and Housing You Matters. She also served on the San Diego Planning Commission.