PracticeHousing and regional economics
Housing and infrastructure needs, counted structure by structure.
For the Southern California Association of Governments, BEAR assessed housing and infrastructure in Imperial County’s colonias: every structure classified, the water, power and road networks mapped, and each community profiled in English and Spanish. The same team built SCAG’s Job Quality Index.
The record
Write-ups with the client, the year, the headline result and the public document.
| Client | Engagement | Year | Headline result |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCAG | SCAG: a Job Quality Index for Southern California | 2024 | 2,900 Workers surveyed: 500 in each of five counties and 400 in Imperial |
| SCAG | SCAG: housing and infrastructure in Imperial County’s colonias | 2022–2024 | 70% Of homes in Salton Sea Beach that are trailers or mobile homes |
| CPUC | CPUC: the economic impact of closing Diablo Canyon | 2019 | $77M Estimated net annual loss, about 0.58 percent of gross regional product |
From the parcel to the regional plan
Needs assessments fail when they average over the places that need help most. BEAR’s start with boundaries and inventory: where each community is, what stands on every lot (including the mobile homes and RVs that housing counts often miss), and the condition of the water, power and road networks that serve it. Demographics and outreach follow, and the findings are written so a council, a county and a state funder can each act on them.
Do you do community outreach, or only data work?
Both. The colonias assessment combined field inventory with outreach, and each community profile was produced in English and Spanish.
Can you work at parcel and road-segment level?
Yes. The colonias work classified structures lot by lot and graded road surfaces segment by segment.
Do you cover labor markets as well as housing?
Yes. BEAR designed SCAG’s Job Quality Index, built on a survey of 2,900 workers across the region’s six counties.
Scoping a needs assessment?
BEAR is a California certified Small Business (Micro), no. 2026547.