San Diego State University – �鶹��Ƶ

The National City Earthquake Safety & Outreach Initiative

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:41:12 +0000

This report contains a series of policy proposals developed by San Diego State University (SDSU) students, in collaboration with National City officials and the SDSU Sage Project, to increase the use of existing earthquake preparedness resources among National City residents. The primary focus of student research was the California Earthquake Brace + Bolt program and encouraging homeowners to engage in seismic retrofitting. Additionally, students developed policy recommendations aimed at increasing general earthquake safety, awareness, and education. Being located in Southern California, earthquake preparedness
is a topic the SDSU community is very familiar with and many students were able to use this as an opportunity to draw upon prior knowledge in their research.
Students worked to create policy suggestions specific to National City, based on methods proven effective in similar municipalities, by researching how the area’s demographics may impact the use of community resources. National City is a heavily Hispanic city, with a large population that does not speak English as a first language. As such, many of the policies in this report focus on bridging that gap in communication and establishing trust between community members and those with access to earthquake preparedness resources. Another major trend among policies developed by students was a focus on finding creative ways to lower the economic burden on residents interested in seismic retrofitting. This led to the creation of several innovative proposals focused on helping residents pay for seismic retrofitting, primarily where other government programs would not suffice. These policies may be more difficult to implement than direct outreach, but they represent an alternate approach the city could take to encourage seismic retrofitting.
The policies presented in this report were chosen for their adaptability as part of a larger earthquake awareness initiative, as well as their ability to function independently. As stressed by National City officials, the city budget does not have any extra funding for extensive earthquake preparedness programs. The purpose behind choosing policies which can operate independently is to work around these constraints and offer solutions that may be more budget-friendly. These policies are categorized based upon the type of actor affected: resident, government group, or external organization.

Using GIS to Assess Seismic Vulnerability in National City

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:38:10 +0000

This report presents a comprehensive assessment of seismic vulnerability in National City, completed by students from San Diego State University’s Geography 584 (GIS Applications) course in collaboration with the Sage Project and the City of National City. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the project combined a parcel-level inventory of residential buildings with geophysical and social data to identify patterns of vulnerability across neighborhoods. Key factors analyzed included soil type, slope, and liquefaction risk, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Social Vulnerability Index. These elements were incorporated into a Weighted Linear Combination model to produce a composite vulnerability score for each parcel in National City. Due to time constraints, the final analysis in this report was conducted for all parcels citywide; however, future work will refine the queries to focus specifically on residential parcels. The results highlight where physical hazards and social vulnerabilities overlap, providing city officials with a data-driven foundation for hazard mitigation planning, infrastructure retrofits, and targeted community outreach.

The City of National City Hazards Preparedness and Mitigation Plan

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:32:39 +0000

“This report, developed through a partnership between the City of National City and San Diego State University’s C P 690 graduate course, presents a comprehensive Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) addressing three primary natural threats: earthquakes, floods, and fires. In assessing these threats, the report identifies National City’s intersecting environmental, infrastructural, and social vulnerabilities, including aging housing stock, low-lying, flood-prone terrain, seismic fault proximity, and a high concentration of low-income, elderly, and renter populations.
Each hazard chapter outlines current conditions, risk factors, and targeted mitigation strategies rooted in climate adaptation, environmental justice, and equity-based planning. For earthquakes, the report highlights over 15,000 homes and 892 businesses at risk, calling for seismic retrofitting, soft-story building inventories, and zoning overlays to limit new development in liquefaction zones. The flood section responds to events like the January 2024 Paradise Creek flood with proposals for green infrastructure, upgraded stormwater systems, and protective zoning. Fire mitigation focuses on structure fire risks due to overcrowding and aging infrastructure, recommending public education campaigns, fire-safe building codes, and emergency preparedness programs.
A central theme throughout the report is inclusive, multilingual, and culturally responsive community engagement. The report proposes youth disaster ambassador programs, neighborhood outreach events, resident-led advisory committees, and partnerships with schools and nonprofits to build local resilience capacity. Tools like CalEnviroScreen and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Risk Index guide equitable resource allocation by identifying the most socially vulnerable areas.
The report aligns closely with the City of National City’s General Plan, Climate Action Plan, and Housing Element, ensuring consistency across city policies. It emphasizes the importance of embedding resilience into land use decisions, infrastructure investments, and emergency planning, with particular attention to protecting low-income, elderly, and linguistically isolated populations. By integrating data-driven assessments with community knowledge, the report positions the City of National City to proactively address hazard risks and build a safer, more equitable future for all residents.

Sustainable Transportation in City of National City: A Community Perspective

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:29:40 +0000

In Fall 2024, San Diego State University (SDSU) student researchers enrolled in Dr. Norah Shultz’s Sociology 407 course collaborated with National City and SDSU’s Sage Project to support ongoing efforts aimed at improving transportation access, safety, and sustainability in District 1. This collaboration was part of a larger initiative tied to the City’s Sustainable Mobility Plan, a strategy funded in part by a Caltrans Sustainable Communities Grant. The grant enables planning efforts that center equity, encourage walking, biking, and public transit use, and promote inclusive community participation. Within this framework, the student-led research sought to gather feedback from individuals who live, work, operate businesses, or commute in and around District 1. The goal was to better understand how existing transportation systems influence experiences of mobility, safety, and access in this part of the city, with special consideration to walking, biking, and public transit.
The class organized into four research groups, each focused on a specific topic area: non-car traffic, older adults and their unique mobility needs, drainage infrastructure, and car traffic. Over the course of the data collection period, researchers gathered responses from residents, business owners, and commuters familiar with District 1. While each group explored a different factor impacting transportation, common themes arose. Respondents raised concerns about sidewalk conditions, poor lighting, signage clarity, and localized flooding. Older residents expressed appreciation for services like Free Rides Around National City (FRANC), while also noting limitations in transit stop comfort and accessibility.
Participants in the drainage group emphasized how flooding-related obstacles, notably near Paradise Creek and the San Diego Bay, interfered with safe and routine travel. Across surveys, participants appeared passionate in their desire to contribute to infrastructure planning through meetings or other direct feedback opportunities. This invested interest highlights the importance of maintaining open, accessible channels for community input in future City-orchestrated efforts. The report concludes with several community-informed recommendations, including improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks, transit stop upgrades, clearer signage, drainage investments, and more inclusive outreach strategies. Altogether, these findings offer insight into how community perspectives can support and complement the City’s continuing work to enhance mobility and transportation access throughout District 1.

On the Ground: An Applied Anthropology Study of Community Perspectives on Equitable and Sustainable Mobility in National City

Ada Inman — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:21:06 +0000

This report presents the findings of an applied anthropology partnership between students in Anthropology 531: Methods in Applied Anthropology at San Diego State University and the City of National City, conducted through the SDSU Sage Project. The class sought to answer the question:
“According to community members, what are the obstacles to sustainable mobility in National City, and what solutions could help expand its use?”
Through walking ethnographies, interviews, and community engagement in all four city districts, students documented both infrastructural and cultural barriers to sustainable mobility. The key findings include: access and equity gaps in transit coverage and usability; safety and infrastructure concerns across pedestrian, cycling, and transit systems; limited public awareness and trust in existing city initiatives; and persistent car dependency shaped by social and practical considerations.
Residents of National City are very involved with and consistently expressed their commitment to community improvement, paired with frustration over issues such as poor lighting, unsafe crossings, unreliable buses, and lack of awareness about available services like the FRANC shuttle.
Quotations from District 2 such as “Driving is just shorter” and “I’d rather drive than wait in the sun for a bus that might not come” capture the lived realities shaping transportation choices.
The recommendations offered in this report—expanding FRANC coverage, improving pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, enhancing safety and awareness, and prioritizing equity and accessibility—represent practical, community-grounded steps toward a more inclusive and sustainable mobility future for National City.

Mixed-Methods Tools for Program Co-Design, Iteration, and Assessment for a Guaranteed Income Program

Ada Inman — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:57:28 +0000

This report is a result of the collaborative partnership between the Black Women’s Resilience Project (BWRP) and the Sage Project at San Diego State University (SDSU). The BWRP, a project sponsored by Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFSSD), is a guaranteed income (GI) program intended to uplift low-income Black women and their families out of poverty by targeting the challenges they face. Research contained in this report was conducted as part of Dr. Kristen Maher’s Fall 2024 Political Science Seminar in Foundations of Public Policy (POL S 603) class at SDSU. The POL S 603 course focused on the theory and practice of policy-making, which comprises the design, agenda setting, tools, and implementation process. Students who opted to participate were tasked with exploring, researching and evaluating methods for tracking the project’s impact. The aim was gathering participant experiences and assessing the effects of the project. This report provides an overview of mixed-methods research and assessment approaches through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) framework, including a discussion of the affordances and constraints of narrative research, Photovoice, and community mapping methods.

Paradise Creek Wetland Expansion in National City, CA

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:19:09 +0000

The National City Paradise Creek expansion project is intended to expand Paradise Creek wetland protection and meet community needs by designing an alternative land use for the welding shop on West 18th Street in National City, CA. The goals of this project include minimizing stormwater runoff, reducing stream degradation, preserving the wetlands and open space, encouraging pedestrian activity, providing small retail, and incorporating Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Green Building Code Standards. Students from San Diego State University (SDSU), in partnership with the Sage Project and the City of National City, were tasked with creating these designs. After visiting the site and doing extensive research on site and cost constraints, six SketchUp site plans were created by six groups of students. The different site designs included a coffee shop/dog run, a community center/food truck area, an art studio/rental space, a community meeting space with ecological lookout tower, an outdoor fitness area, and a green roof daycare/event center. Some common design proposal aspects were recurring as they were deemed of high importance to the community and the site. Many of the site designs retain some form of the welding shop structure, introduce restroom facilities, and a design layout that would allow for intermittent flooding. It is recommended that these three aspects are incorporated into the final design in one capacity or another. With these additions and improvements to the site, the needs of the community and the City’s Westside Specific Plan can be met, all while retaining the natural function and beauty of the wetland.

Paradise Creek Public Restrooms and Coffee Shop

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:17:06 +0000

We designed a project that combines a large bathroom space with a coffee shop and a community events area upstairs. The multiple-stall area is designed to provide easy access, safety, and a non-claustrophobic environment for people of all ages and genders. Families can visit the public restroom and coffee shop after visiting the nearby Paradise Creek Park. We wanted to emphasize connection in our design concept, as the park is located in a busy area with many visitors. To achieve this, we created a unique bench that can seat a large number of people and is adorned with educational signs. The bench is intended to evoke curiosity and playfulness and serves as a gathering area, meeting spot, and safe haven for anyone in need of a place to sit, relax, and clean their head.

Balboa Park: Housing Campus

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:10:24 +0000

The Sage Project at San Diego State University was commissioned to look at opportunities for the potential development of a housing shelter in Balboa Park. Students of the Howard Blackson III’s City Planning 700 Urban Design and Land Use Planning Studio course applied design standards they learned throughout the semester into developing a campus consisting of housing as well as amenities to benefit the residents. Each group had their own take on how to structure the campus. The students hope to provide ideas for a campus design to house those in need with dignity. There were two potential locations within the park, Inspiration Point as well as the City Yard. Each group decided on a location they saw as a best fit and had the freedom to create a blueprint for a campus with any design and amenities they saw as beneficial. Each group also developed their own philosophies to guide how they wanted their shelter to operate. While it was important to design campuses that were aesthetically pleasing, it was just as important to create a welcoming environment that could truly feel like home to those most in need. The only guidelines the groups were given was to create a campus that could provide shelter for around 500 people, and to create an environment where people could be temporarily housed with dignity and the possibility to help them gain more permanent stability. There are five groups’ work presented in this report, first sharing the thoughts and ideas that guided each group through the campus, as well as the site plans, and various cross sections and different aspects of each of the campuses. Combining the knowledge learned throughout the course, research on other campuses in various states, and the desire to help improve the lives of many, these campus communities were created.

Sustainability and Sovereignty for Southeast San Diego: Uplifting the Community by Providing Career Resources and Fresh Produce

Ada Inman — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:05:49 +0000

Building on previous research done by student researchers at San Diego State University through the Sage Project and its collaboration with the San Diego Urban Sustainability Coalition, Dr. Norah Shultz’s spring 2023 Sociology 407 course split into three groups to investigate how the San Diego Energy and Equity Campus (SDEEC) could be of service to underserved communities in Southeast San Diego. The groups designed three surveys, each to assess the degree to which the community would be interested in utilizing the following sustainability resources via the SDEEC: training in careers in sustainability, fresh produce distribution, and sustainability internships for high school students. Results across surveys indicated a positive attitude towards these resources, despite a lower-than-expected level of understanding around the concept of sustainability itself. Many respondents were not aware of the SDEEC at all. Group 1, which surveyed community members about their interest in sustainability career trainings, found that people were most interested in vocational training in the following areas: environmental education, smart home installation, and government jobs. Group 2, which investigated the community’s interest in acquiring fresh produce at the SDEEC, found that most respondents had difficulty finding affordable, quality fruits and vegetables locally. A vast majority of respondents expressed interest in going to the SDEEC for fresh produce, whether it be a farmers market or a community garden. Group 3, which surveyed young adults to ask them retroactively how interested they would have been in a sustainability internship for students back when they were in high school, found that participants would have been most interested in internships centering around pollution prevention and greenhouse gas management, farmers markets and community agriculture, and water sustainability.