Our Journalism Needs Your Support

By Sharan Street
Published Mar 06, 2023

Santa Cruz’s small-town scale seduces refugees from SoCal’s sprawling suburbs. Image credit: Sundry Photography Shutterstock

03-06-23: Brave New Burbs

As is true for many who have fallen in love with Santa Cruz, I first laid eyes on the city when I moved into the dorms at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Though that was quite some time ago, one thing hasn’t changed: most students come from other corners of the Golden State.

Specifically for the fall of 2022, here are the stats: 28.4 percent headed south from the San Francisco Bay Area, but almost as many—25.7 percent—hail from Los Angeles and Orange County. Another 11.9 percent moved from the Central Valley, plus 10.2 percent from San Diego and the Inland Empire. The “locals”—lumped in with a grouping that includes both the Monterey Bay and Silicon Valley—make up just 12.6 percent.

For half of these new arrivals—those who come from dry, crowded SoCal—Santa Cruz will be a beautiful revelation.

Though I had already lived in a seaside resort with a pier, an amusement park and a similar name, I felt the same way. Aside from those three commonalities, Santa Monica bore little resemblance to Santa Cruz. By the time I began leaving the “city on a hill” to explore the rest of the county, I’d become accustomed to small-town living. Capitola’s 41st Avenue felt jarring—like I’d been transported back to Los Angeles County, with its traffic-ridden thoroughfares and crowded malls.

Suburban Planning

Those who only know California through common stereotypes envision a land of freeways, cookie-cutter housing tracts, mega malls and sprawling exurbs. But the reality is more nuanced. This week, California Local reporter Jonathan Vankin asks two questions. What is a suburb? And what is the origin story of that most American phenomenon, the shopping mall? The answers are surprising.

How the Suburbs Shaped America, and California Shaped the Suburbs

Suburbia has become a defining feature of the California landscape. But what does the word really mean?

America has become a mostly suburban country, and California is known for its sprawling ’burbs. But what is a suburb? It turns out California may not be as suburban as people believe.

Mall Culture and the American Dream

The future of malls looks like one where the rich get richer while lower-end malls simply die out.

Shopping malls revolutionized how Americans shopped, socialized, and lived. Now, malls face an uncertain future. How did the dream of a new town square go so wrong?

Highway Casualties

No less significant a factor in shaping California is the development of interstate highways. As CalMatters reporter Wendy Fry writes, “During the nation’s interstate highway construction boom in the 1950s and ’60s, numerous urban neighborhoods were sliced through, often isolating residential areas largely populated by minorities and low-income residents.” Now, there is momentum to repair some of that damage

Rerouting Past Wrongs

Caltrans has received $680,000 in federal funding to explore alternatives for reconnecting communities along the I-980 in Oakland.

California lawmakers are exploring ways to reconnect urban neighborhoods torn asunder during the interstate highway construction boom of the 1950s and ’60s.

Along the Fruited Plain

Despite the undeniably negative unintended consequences of the 1957 Federal Highway Aid Act, one can argue that there are positives—including the ease with which one can get around this vast state, which is still blessed by a wealth of agricultural land. California Local’s Richard von Busack tours some of the landmarks that celebrate our state’s bounty.

Roadside Attractions

Fresh and dried fruit, wine, nuts and more can be found at Casa De Fruta, a venerable stop for drivers traversing Pacheco Pass.

California is the top agricultural producer in the U.S., and a top beneficiary of visitor spending. So naturally, we’ve got fun, food-driven tourist magnets.

Living History

We’re several days into Women’s History Month—a fine time to look back at our “Localist” on 25 California women who made history. ranging from Toypurina (1760-1799), a Tongva shaman who opposed Spanish colonialism, to Kamala Harris, the California senator who became the first woman to serve as vice president. Harris, of course, wasn't our first female senator—that distinction belongs to Dianne Feinstein. Jonathan Vankin took a look back at Feinstein’s long history in politics. The 89-year-old senator, who was hospitalized this week but is expected to recover, plans to retire at the end of her current term.

Dianne Feinstein Dies, ‘Charted Own Path’ in Legendary Career

Dianne Feinstein began her career in government six years before current Gov. Gavin Newsom was born.

Dianne Feinstein, California’s longtime senior U.S. senator, has died at age 90, after a legendary career in public life that began in 1961 and took off amidst the turbulent, violent era of San Francisco in the 1970s.