Envisioning
California's Great Central Valley
housing the next 10 million
Competition Background
The Great Valley Center and The American Institute of Architects, California Council
(AIACC), are jointly presenting an open ideas competition to explore ways for California's
Central Valley to absorb another 10-14 million residents by 2040. The purpose of the
competition is to illustrate alternatives for less land-intensive habitation models,
support urban design implementation tools and to help local decision-makers deal more
effectively with the enormous potential growth of California's Central Valley.
The Future of California's Central Valley
California's Great Central Valley lies between Mt. Shasta in the north and the Tehachapis
in the south, comprises 18 of the State's 58 counties, and consists of two distinct
sub-regions, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. Additionally, the Delta, a complex
make-up of rivers, canals, and creeks, is responsible for over two-thirds of the state's
water, and flows through these two sub-regions. The Central Valley is also one of the
world's most unique natural settings. The Valley contains vast natural features: two major
river systems; majestic groves of valley oaks; wetlands that attract millions of migratory
birds annually; and deep alluvial soils that have made the Valley the richest agricultural
region of the world. The land, water and air resources of the Valley are precious and
limited in their capacity to accept continued urbanization in the patterns that have
become familiar in the late 20th century. According to the American Farmland Trust, the
Central Valley could lose over one million acres of farmland as the Valley's population
grows from four million residents to a projected 10-14 million by 2040. While statewide
population is expected to double by 2040,1990 Central Valley population figures could
triple during this period. Some counties—particularly those on the Valley floor where
annual agricultural output is the most productive—are expected to absorb a larger
share of this population growth and are also projected to lose about 20 percent of their
farmland during this period. Efficient use of the land and thoughtful community
development patterns will improve chances that agriculture, natural ecological systems and
urbanization can co-exist successfully in the Central Valley.
In addition to depleting much of the state's agricultural land base, this major population
growth will affect local government finances, transportation and infrastructure systems,
water supply, housing, air quality, recreational lands, educational facilities, and
attempts to coalesce metropolitan growth areas. Many of the unique characteristics of
Central Valley communities are being lost as homogenous new developments are built.
Critical Questions for the Central Valley
The Central Valley is facing a period of tremendous opportunities and challenges. Choices
that are made by communities over the next decade will shape the character of the Central
Valley for the foreseeable future. Competition presenters are looking for submissions that
will provide insights into the types of development issues and potential solutions
addressing the following critical issues:
Accommodating Population Growth
How and where will we accommodate the additional 10 million people projected to live in
the Central Valley by the year 2040, within the context of the Valley's changing
demographics?
Guiding Development
How can we guide the major demand for new housing and commercial construction and related
new jobs that will be created by this enormous growth?
Residential Development Patterns
What alternative habitation patterns can be developed for individual towns and cities as
well as for entire sub-regions of the Valley? How will these areas grow within the next
20-50 years as their populations double and, in some cases, triple?
Urban Design Tools
What kinds of tools can we develop that will include not only the "visions" to
guide this future growth, but also the political and legislative processes necessary to
implement these visions, respecting local history, traditions and culture?
Economic Opportunity
How can we demonstrate that new planning and design schemes can be financially consistent
with current building and development practices? And, how can development provide for
economic opportunities for Valley residents?
The Objectives of the Competition
The competition's challenge is to find ways to accommodate 10-14 million additional people
while recognizing important resource issues, changing demographics, and new socio-economic
realities within the Central Valley. California has both the opportunity and obligation to
lead the way in the development of alternative models for human habitation in terms of
conservation and sustainable energy and resource use, in harmony with reasonable economic
development. Solutions for the Central Valley can demonstrate new habitation models for
the world. The presenters intend to use the products of this competition to:
Visualize new ways to address the Valley's population growth;
Stimulate a discussion of alternative responsible growth patterns;
Provide new choices and opportunities for government officials, policy makers, developers,
and property owners who seek economic development and housing while insuring a viable
agricultural industry and a healthy environment;
Provide assistance and support for communities who wish to implement their visions;
Empower communities to meet their own growth challenges;
Provide new concepts of urbanization that can be replicated in other regions of the nation
and the world confronting similar issues; and,
Acknowledge and provide for resource conservation methods for water, power, and other
resources whose usage will increase with a growing population.
The competition will enable decision makers, developers, property owners, and the public
to understand the consequences, opportunities and trade-offs of current growth models and
to become aware of the potentials of alternative housing and development patterns that use
land more efficiently within the context of California's physical, cultural and political
environment. The presenters will disseminate the results of this competition in a number
of ways through public exhibitions and post-competition workshops and charettes, featuring
a supporting implementation "tool kit" that will help Central Valley
decision-makers guide the Valley's growth over the next half-century.
Awards Program
"Housing the next 10 million" will be a two-phase competition. The first phase
features the Ideas Competition. The second phase provides an opportunity for Communities
to compete for funding designed to implement changes in general plans and zoning
designations
Ideas Competition: Phase I
The Ideas Competition awards program will include both Honor Awards and Awards of
Excellence. All competition submissions will be anonymous and will be on public exhibit
prior to the initial jury review. Submittals must be economically feasible within the
future context of housing 10 million people. The most promising submissions will be
selected with Honor Awards by a professional jury comprised of professional planners,
designers, developers and Valley policy makers from a variety of backgrounds. The Honor
Award recipients will each have the opportunity to make an oral presentation of their
winning schemes to the jury, government officials, industry representatives, and to the
public in a comprehensive public awareness program.
Broad dissemination of these presentations is planned via video, conference workshops and
other communication modes. A traveling exhibit of the proposals of all award recipients
and others selected by the jury as honorable mentions is being planned throughout the
Valley. The proposals of the Honor Awards and Awards of Excellence will be included in a
"Lessons Learned" training program that will be made available (together with
videotapes of the presentations) to all decision makers in the Central Valley and other
regions confronted with similar issues.
Honor Awards
These are the entries that demonstrate the highest level of creativity and sensitivity
regarding the cultural, economic and environmental challenges facing the Central Valley.
Five winners, for each category listed below, will each receive up to $20,000 to conduct
workshops and presentations in the Central Valley.
Awards of Excellence
These entries represent plans that have already been adopted and are "in the
works." Awards of Excellence recipients will receive extensive recognition and
publicity. All winning entries will receive recognition from the media in state and
national trade publications and will be featured in AIACC publications and on the AIACC
Website, accompanied by photographs and descriptions.
Ideas Competition Requirements for Phase I
The Ideas Competition is open to all architects, urban designers, landscape architects,
urban and regional planners, engineers, educators, students, and others interested in
conservation and development issues. Multi-disciplinary teams that include specialists in
the many areas critical to these issues, are encouraged to submit.
The Competition Presenters will provide each entrant or team with a competition program
that contains:
A discussion of the issues and assumptions the presenters believe are critical to the
current situation;
Appropriate background information; and,
Competition rules and submission requirements.
Ideas Competition Categories for Phase I
Ideas Competition Awards will be given for the best housing or mixed-use solutions judged
in the following categories:
Development of Infill Sites;
Redevelopment Site;
New Growth Areas;
Small Rural Agricultural Communities; or
Housing Design.
Planning Requirements
Planning and design ideas should demonstrate solutions that address the challenges of this
competition. The jury will be looking for solutions that acknowledge:
a) The need for designs to relate to their context, and to respect the history, traditions
and culture of the region and the site;
b) Changing demographics of the Central Valley;
c) Larger-sized and extended families;
d) Changing income levels of Valley residents;
e) The need for residential buildings and developments that last for several generations.
Presentation Boards
Each team will be required to submit two, 36" x 24" display boards, per entry.
The first board will provide an opportunity for submittals to communicate the planning
context, issues and objectives for their selected site. The second board will be used to
present planning and design ideas.
Settings: Board 1
Board #1 will be dedicated to defining the context and planning parameters for the
competition categories. The intent of Board #1 is to establish the framework of planning
issues the planning and design competition solution responds to. The success of the
planning solution articulated in Ideas Board #2 will be largely determined by the
submitter's clear understanding and communication of planning issues.
a) Neighborhood or district setting for an Infill Site;
b) Community setting for a Redevelopment Site;
c) Regional setting for New Growth Areas;
d) Rural setting for Small Agricultural Communities;
e) Neighborhood setting for a Housing Design.
The designs may be site-specific, and each team may choose its own site as long as it
meets the requirements of the "settings" described above. If more than one
setting is chosen, a separate entry is required for each additional setting.
Ideas: Board 2
The second board will present ideas, including plans and architectural designs,
photographs and site plans for one of the following: single family house; multi-family
residential building; infill development, or new development in the context of the
selected setting. The idea plans should illustrate two time horizons, or phases, of 10
years and 25 years, offering contemporary solutions that are more sustainable over time.
Community Implementation: Phase II
After the Ideas Competition winners have been announced in the Summer of 1999, the
sponsors will award four communities with funding for implementing plans that capture the
spirit of the Ideas Competition. They will each receive $10,000 to assist with the
changing of local zoning codes or general plans to make the achievement of these new goals
possible.
Details and rules regarding the requirements of this portion of the competition will be
announced at a later date. However, the Community Implementation: Phase II portion of the
program will include the following elements:
• Traveling Exhibit Show;
• Educational Workshops and/or Presentations;
• Community Implementation Awards Program.
Competition Jury
Carolyn Ratto
Mayor Pro Tem, City of Turlock
President, League of California Cities
Juan Arambula
Chairman
Fresno County Board of Supervisors,
District 3
Carol Tomlinson-Keasey
Vice Provost
Office of the President
University of California, Merced
Sandra R. Smoley, R.N.
Secretary
California Health & Welfare Agency
Harriet Tregoning
Director of Urban Planning
US Environmental Protection Agency
Lee Salter
President & CEO
The McConnell Foundation
Myron Orfield
Representative
State of Minnesota, Author
Fred Ruiz
Chairman of the Board
Ruiz Food Products, Inc.
Tapan Munroe, Ph.D.
CEO
Munroe Consulting
Bill Pauli
President
California Farm Bureau Federation
H. James Brown, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Robert H. Twiss, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Environmental Planning
University of California, Berkeley
Daniel P. Gregory, Ph.D.
Senior Editor
Sunset Magazine
Harrison S. Fraker Jr.,
FAIA
Dean, College of Environmental Design
University of California, Berkeley
Mary McCumber, AICP
Executive Director
Puget Sound Regional Council
In addition to the Jurors
listed above, specialists, who have unique skills related to the Valley, will serve as
Technical Advisors to the Jury.
Competition Schedule
Competition Registration Opens
November 1998
Post Competition Requirements
January 1, 1999
Competition Briefing
January 15, 1999
Post Questions & Answers
January 29, 1999
Submissions Due
May 24, 1999 (9:00 a.m.)
Jury Review: Select Award Winners
May 25, 1999
Public Exhibit
May 26 & 27, 1999
Award Presentations
May 27, 1999
Post Competition: Phase II Community Implementation Summer
Fall 1999
Eligibility for Competition
The competition is open to all architects, urban designers, landscape architects, urban
and regional planners, engineers, educators, students and others interested in
conservation and development issues. Multi-disciplinary teams, that include specialists in
the many areas critical to these issues, are encouraged to submit a competition entry.
More Information
Competition Advisor: William H. Liskamm, FAIA
For more information, please visit the AIACC website at www.aiacc.org
or call 916/448-9082. |
