Achieving “abundance” in CA means more than simple efficiency

By Amy Lerman and Lindsay Clalen, special for Calmatters

This comment was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

California has a shortage problem.

In the last decades, Consumer goods cost Like cars and mobile phones, it has fallen while the cost of healthy food and child care has climbed. We are rich in natural resources, land and humans, but when it comes to producing more than the things we need as residential, energy and transport infrastructure, we dramatically fall out.

In a 2024 University Survey CaliforniaThe opportunity has found that more than half of the state voters agree that it is difficult to access at least some basic goods and services.

All over the country, a increasing conversation it shapes about how we can build more than what people need to live a full, thriving life. It is called the “abundance program” and claims that the administrative burdens placed on the construction and creation of things we need more are just too high.

California leaders must perceive the abundance frame in order to solve our shortage problem. But achieving this vision requires more than simple focus on efficiency – it requires investment in people.

We cannot achieve abundance without architects, developers, planners and construction workers that build our infrastructure. In addition to building, we cannot achieve abundance without home care workers, teachers before K and primary care doctors who support our elderly care systems, children and health care. If we really want to realize abundance, we need policies that make these jobs attractive and achievable: offering better salaries, improving working conditions and Building career paths who recognize their vital contribution to the thriving society.

Abundance movement often implicitly – or explicitly – called People as part of the problemS Proponents criticize the participation of environmental and labor groups as a delay in progress. If we want to navigate the difficult compromises between what is fast and what is fair, we, we, we, Need new engagement modelsS Current systems where public contribution is often in the form of prolonged review processes that empower NIMby or not in my backyard obstruction is non -productiveS

At the same time, the prevalence of community fears in the name of speed is simply neither fair nor politically viable.

Instead, we need mechanisms for inclusive decision -making that encourage consensus, not a grid. This may mean the design of participation planning processes that bring different stakeholders to the table earlier and at the level of urban or regional planning, determining clear deadlines for entry and use Reporting and digital instruments To improve transparency and engagement.

This may also mean the development of targeted policies to ensure, Labor or Community Agreements This connects growth to local priorities.

For all his promise, the movement of abundance risks remaining intellectual exercise, unless it covers a clear, tested set of strategies. UC Berkeley Opportunities Laboratory Starts “Accelerator“More than a year ago to study 12 Main areas of the issue Where abundance policy can have real impact. The laboratory is also Working with state and local agencies and Public organizations Design and test new Community engagement models to help achieve common policy goals.

The transition from conversation to action begins with people who will apply abundance. Politicians and practitioners should prioritize not only regulatory reform but also the opportunities for education and the workforce pipelines, which guarantee that we have the necessary population to ensure abundance.

The philanthropy and impact of investors should focus on financing models that maintain not only innovation but also the human infrastructure needed for its scale. Both state and local authorities must work with communities to establish decision -making processes that pass the past of obstructionist policy and to meaningful decisions.

After all, the abundance is for a person’s flourishing. This requires not only how we build, but who builds and who benefits, ensuring that these people are supported, trained and empowered.

If we want a future of true abundance, we must start by investing in the people who will make it possible.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.