Affordable Silicon Valley

Show #89, Hour 1 | Guests: Egon Terplan, Regional Planning Director, SPUR; Derecka Mehrens, Executive Director, Working Partnerships. | Show Summary: Rent control. Owner move-ins. Skyrocketing property values. How do Silicon Valley and the Bay Area try to keep their populations financially diverse, and keep the American dream alive for those with less income? We’ll spend the hour on an examination of the stakeholders, potential solutions, and how other major cities have confronted the issue. Guests: Egon Terplan, Regional Planning Director, SPUR. A regional planner and economic development specialist with more than 14 years of experience, Egon Terplan has authored or co-authored numerous reports and policy studies related to regional planning, economic development, transportation and government reform, including the first-ever report on the Northern California megaregion and a 2011 report on land use planning and high-speed rail in California. Prior to joining SPUR, he spent more than five years with ICF International advising cities and regions throughout the world on economic development and competitiveness. Derecka Mehrens, Executive Director, Working Partnerships. Derecka’s work at WP includes organizing and campaign strategies for San Jose’s minimum wage increase, engaging low-income communities of color in public policy issues, and forming coalitions with the Domestic Workers Alliance, Bay Area Equal Voice Coalition, and California Calls, among others. Prior to joining Working Partnerships she was a director with the California chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), where she set statewide legislative priorities and managed organizing campaigns in 12 regions across the state. Mehrens is currently a board member for the Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and California Calls.