Managed Growth, Regional Planning and C-3 in the 1970s with Diane Coombs

The Finest City

We welcome back longtime C-3 member and director Diane Coombs. Diane shares her journey to San Diego from growing up on a farm, and the lessons it taught her about the environment and cultivating a relationship with nature. Then, Diane talks about the history of managed growth and smart growth in San Diego, from open space preservation to densification. Diane talks about the biggest battles of the 1970s, how we can teach the younger generations to learn from the past, and how certain issues such as sprawl development continue to plague San Diego today.

Timestamps:

[3:51] Diane talks about what brought her to San Diego and how her career developed. What made her join C-3?

[4:16] Growing up on a farm gave Diane a strong connection to nature and that we have to seek out justice when protecting our land and environment.

[6:48] What was the national attitude towards open space and environment preservation leading into the 1970s? Diane touches upon the deficiencies in these policies.

[12:00] Diane discusses how the Clean Water Act began to recognize the importance of wetlands.

[15:04] Diane talks about her first experience engaging in advocacy in San Diego and how the League of Women Voters and C-3 gave her a sense of intellectual community and freedom.

[16:33] Diane talks about a few of the major battles in the 1970s that she remembers. One of them being the Naval Hospital in Balboa Park.

[21:39] Diane explains how our modern education system is lacking because we are not properly educating our students on history.

[23:52] Another battle of the 1970s was the growth management plan. Diane talks about how managed growth was the beginning of smart growth.

[36:52] What were some of Diane’s memories of Lloyd Rocco?

[45:02] What challenges does Diane think the next generation of planners and activists will face in San Diego? And how should an organization like C-3 provide better education and assistance to them?

About C-3

In its 60 years of existence, Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 (C-3) has brought together local thought leaders from planning, design, policy, academia, community development, and more to address our region’s distinctive and pressing land use challenges. In founding C-3 almost 60 years ago, architect Lloyd Ruocco’s vision was to bring together our region’s most creative minds from the arts, sciences, academia, and government to share ideas, learn new perspectives, and build fellowship around the idea of creating livable communities.

Opportunities for Advocacy and Engagement:

C3sandiego.org

League of Women Voters

Lloyd Ruocco