Alexis Atsilvsgi Zaragoza explores the shifting relationship between California’s San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley through the lens of platform capitalism, and examines how digital platforms, such as those used in real estate transactions, logistics, and surveillance, have deepened economic and social disparities between these two dynamic regions. By examining these interconnected issues, the article argues for urgent policy reform and coordinated activism to address the systemic challenges faced by both urban and rural communities in an increasingly digital economy.
Chelsea Hall explores tradeoffs among two alternative policy approaches for mitigating wildfire impacts in Greece: creating a prescribed burn insurance program while leveraging the goat population, and partnering with the Greek Fire Service to fund community wildfire protection plans. Ultimately, she advocates for the establishment of community wildfire protection plans in order to foster community and interagency partnerships, arguing that these locality-specific adaptation policies constitute a more integrated and equitable approach to fire management.
In early 2024, the Goldman School launched the Democracy Policy Initiative (DPI), which leverages expertise from UC Berkeley faculty, community members, and academic partners to build an evidence base for policies that promote a healthy, responsive, and multi-racial democracy. To learn more about the DPI’s structure and ambitions, BPPJ reached out to three key leaders of the Initiative: Angela Glover Blackwell, DPI Chief Vision O!cer and Professor of Practice; Jacob Grumbach, Associate Professor; and David Wilson, Dean of the Goldman School and Professor of Public Policy. The following...
Spencer Lively proposes an alternative system, the Index Model, for funding improvements to California’s K-12 school facilities. By aligning funding amounts with the number of students served in each school district, he argues that the Index Model is more equitable than current funding distribution methods, which exacerbate the educational disparities between low-income districts and wealthier districts. Note from the Editors: although AB 247 was proposed legislation at the time of authorship, it was approved and signed into law the summer of 2024.
Alex Lei considers two policy options to improve the resilience of California’s electrical grid in the face of climate change: performance-based regulation for utilities and tax incentives for microgrids. After analyzing their e!ectiveness, equity, and political feasibility, he makes the case for the State to adopt performance-based regulation, which would require investor-owned utility companies to achieve pre-negotiated goals or face lost profits.
