San Diego in 40 Years — What's in Store

What will San Diego be 40 years from now? A local group launched a special project on Wednesday, called "Our Greater San Diego Vision," hopes to help shape the future of the city.

The initiative brings together the public, private, and non-profit sectors to help San Diego maintain its status as America's finest city.

The San Diego region is facing major challenges, 78 percent of residents believe that a long-range plan is needed to shape the city's future, the group said. The study also showed that 40 percent of residents surveyed said the high cost of living and lack of job opportunities are the biggest factors affecting their quality of life.

The group plans to tackle the growing needs of the region.

"In the next 40 years our region will grow by 40 percent -- an additional 1.25 million people which is essentially the size of San Diego today," said Bill Geppert, the group's executive director. "Six out of 10, of these residents will be our own children and grandchildren, so we are producing the majority of the growth in the region."

The next generation will need 500,000 new jobs, 400,000 new homes, among other things, said Geppert.

Over the summer the group will form several task forces to develop solutions to the region's future needs. The public will be invited to give their input during a series of workshops in September.

The results of the project will be unveiled in Spring 2012.

Contact Us