Am I naive for thinking that Fresno and Bakersfield will change? (Los Angeles: airport, beaches)

[Moddedintegra56]

Fresno before bakersfield thats for sure.

The fact that Fresno is being talked about more is already a start. whether good or bad, its like the saying any publicity is good publicity.

The HSR I believe is a key factor since it will the closest big city in the first part of the HSR to the bay area. If the city plays their cards right and get more investors and companies there for other type of jobs, it could be a game changer.

[colorful_mess]

Stop and Move is a great blog in documenting these incremental changes that Fresno is making around HSR. The guy that runs it also criticizes the city planners who continue to approve parking lots, stroads, and roads to suburban lots that haven't even been built yet.

I also know young people in the valley who are sick of cars and suburbia and want to live here for the long haul, but with something more walkable and unique. In the end, the brightest end up moving away and not contributing to the area. The CV needs to solve its huge brain drain problem.

I don't like the mono cropping and big agriculture mentality. Why not boutique organic farms? Why not smaller farms that don't kick up vast amounts of dust and pesticides in the air? Why don't some of their farmer's markets run all year long? Why did some of the smaller towns ban farmer's markets until recently? Huge ag exports bring in cash, for sure, but then why is the region so poor? Lots of questions.

[sacreole]

I moved to Sacramento from Visalia 12 years ago. It was about that time that the "Creative Class" was being talked about as a means of transforming cities into incubators of innovation and high-tech. A former Fresno city councilman and current state legislator wrote a commentary that appeared in the Fresno Bee 13 years ago about the Creative Class and how Fresno should invest in its social infrastructure to attract and retain a more creative and educated population. Inspired by his article I penned a similar commentary that appeared in the Visalia Times-Delta about how Visalia could attract and retain the Creative Class. One of my suggestions was to attract and encourage more high value-added industries rooted in our agricultural sector. I termed the phrase "Ag-tech" to define how agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley could evolve beyond just mere crop production. Although the San Joaquin Valley is not and may never become a Silicon Valley, it could develop its own "tech cluster" rooted in agriculture and other indigenous industries.

[Bruce81]

Unlike Fresno, Bakersfield is actually growing but it still has a ways to go. Fresno is bigger but it's downfall is its location in the middle of nowhere. I work in LA county and some people have never even heard of Fresno, lol but heard of Bakersfield. Not good things but at least heard of it. Fresno is not accessible by any interstate or major airline. The closest major airport to Fresno is San Jose almost 3 hours away. Burbank is only 80 miles from Bakersfield. Bakersfield needs to capitalize on its country roots, create some sort of attraction while Fresno can continue to be known for hmm not sure I guess the Bulldogs. Most people who go to Yosemite don't venue bother stopping in Fresno. I do think the hsr while help Fresno since it is so isolated.

[Somenobody1234]

Or Fresno can continue being known for poetry...

[Perma Bear]

Originally Posted by Somenobody1234

Or Fresno can continue being known for poetry...

Poverty*

[the topper]

No, it's not your imagination that Fresno and Bakersfield will change with the service of HSR. Their downtowns will definitely improve and will become vibrant. They will be like San Jose the way it is now in 15 years: pop. of nearly 1 million with vibrant downtowns

[payutenyodagimas]

for Bakersfield, they have to compete with Lancaster and Palmdale. these cities are more accessible than Bakersfield due to the fact that they are part of LA County. in fact, if you are talking about air hub, LAX will probably develop the airport there than transfer some operations to Bakersfield, but then Ontario Airport is still not operating to capacity so don't expect any spill over to Bakersfield for another 50 years


the only thing going for Bakersfield is that they have oil and agri. without that, its just another Palm Spring (very hot after winter) without the mountains and proximity to LA/OC

[nightlysparrow]

Maybe more people becoming vegetarians or vegans would reduce the demand for all those poor cows you see and smell from the 5 near Coalinga. That would free up a lot of space.

[Bruce81]

True, I agree. Bakersfield has the proximity to LA, the agriculture and the oil industry. Now that the oil has taken a hit I do believe that the hsr will help the Bakersfield area. Of course Palmdale/Lancaster are much more accessible to LA and now with LA rents skyrocketing that area will grow very fast, the IE and maybe Bakersfield but it's too far of a commute to LA. Either way there will still be an influx of LA residents going to Bakersfield after the rent hikes if they don't choose the IE or high desert since I know many LA county residents that either have family or friends in Bakersfield.