The Past, Present, and Future of Environmental Activism on Mission Bay

The Finest City

This week, Kate introduces a conversation between C3 Board Director and Local Sustainability Advocate Kristen Victor and longtime waterfront activist Judy Swink from July 10, 2020. The two discuss the history of environmental activism on Mission Bay. Judy shares her perspective on how priorities around Mission Bay planning have finally shifted from overdevelopment to wetland restoration. Judy discusses the work C3 has done to support Mission Bay Park, and the changes she sees that still need to be made both in the short and long term for the space.

Timestamps:

[2:02] Judy shares a historical perspective of Mission Bay, and how popular the concept of creating Mission Bay Park was after World War II. In Mission Valley, they were envisioning an extension of serving visitors, and the citizenry was also excited about having this recreational park and how it would create special areas around Mission Bay.

[7:45] As a longtime standing board member and C3 Alum, Judy discusses how members of C3 and the board participated in the planning of Mission Bay Park. She participated in the Mission Bay Planners meetings, and reflects how C3 supported the Park as both an economic driver and recreation location for everyone in the community. C3 advocated for public access to open space and economic growth around jobs within the tourism industry.

[12:26] Now in the current day of 2021, Judy considers the Mission Bay Plan great, but we need an amendment that addresses the climate change impacts that we will be seeing, particularly, sea level rise. The RV camping at Campland needs to move so we can reclaim that area for the wetlands, but we also still must provide safe access to the Bay for people using RV camping.

[16:08] C3 has a holistic approach, legacy, and advocacy perspective serves to balance the many uses of Mission Bay Park, while most other groups have a singular focus.

[17:36] Judy is pleased that there are several C3’s Board Members that continue to focus on Mission Bay Park, and hopes more people will continue to be advocates for this wonderful space.

About C-3

In its 60 years of existence, Citizens Coordinate for Century 3 (C-3) has brought together local thought leaders from planning, design, policy, academia, community development, and more to address our region’s distinctive and pressing land use challenges. In founding C-3 almost 60 years ago, architect Lloyd Ruocco’s vision was to bring together our region’s most creative minds from the arts, sciences, academia, and government to share ideas, learn new perspectives, and build fellowship around the idea of creating livable communities.

Opportunities for Advocacy and Engagement:

C3sandiego.org

rewildmissionbay.org/