San Joquin Valley (CA) Place Matters Project

Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, and Tulare Counties (CA)

Team Profile Summary

It is evident that health and quality of life are linked to where people live. Broad inequities are associated with accumulated challenges in poverty, housing and transportation, air quality, and access to jobs, schools, and recreation.  The San Joaquin Valley (SJV) Place Matters project is a collaborative effort between the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University Fresno, six of the SJV counties health department directors and/or their designees and key leaders in air and water quality, healthy food access, physical activity environments, access to health care and affordable housing and development.   Together, this collaboration presses to develop a sound regional agenda to improve health inequities.

Team Profile Details

Problem Statement

Known as “the nation’s salad bowl”, the San Joaquin Valley is considered California’s top agricultural producing region, with five of its counties ranking among the state’s top 10 farm producers.  Other important industries in the region include gas and oil, with the deepest well and half of the largest oil fields in Kern County.  The Elkhorn Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve and Lemoore Naval Air Station are also in this bioregion.

The San Joaquin Valley is one of the most polluted regions in the state and country. Due to its topography, the bowl-shaped Valley collects and holds emissions and air pollution from other cities and is thus well-known for its poor air quality. Other challenges in the San Joaquin Valley include increased motor vehicle accidents and traffic fatalities, primarily in rural areas, due to a lack of sidewalks and traffic lights.  With an estimated 3.5 million residents, San Joaquin Valley is one of the poorest counties in the United States, but also a source of enormous wealth with regard to agricultural production.  The Valley continues to experience significant place-based inequities, which is a focus of the SJVC Place Matters team’s work from both public health and health care perspectives.

Team Objectives

The San Joaquin Valley Counties Place Matters team serves as a convener of place-based initiatives in the region and supports their efforts to address inequities.  These activities include:

  • 92701 Council- The team supports the 92701 Council, a non-profit organization that brings together myriad community and neighborhood groups within the 92701 zip code to develop policy and program initiatives to meet the community’s needs. The SVJC Place Matters team co-sponsors meetings and assists the Council in developing priorities and work plans to help eliminate the poor conditions in the area.
  • Research and Training – The San Joaquin Valley Counties Place Matters team supports three Building Health Communities sites, funded by the California Endowment in the Valley, by providing research and training assistance. Team members also work with the Community Equity Initiative, a network of communities that work with unincorporated communities in the Central Valley on basic infrastructure related issues.

For more information and to become involved, please contact:

Team Lead: Dr. Marlene Bengiamin
Email: marleneb@csufresno.edu
Phone: 559-228-2167