Nothing is easier to criticize or dismiss than a big civic idea. That’s partly because — let’s face it — all truly bold ideas seem a bit questionable at the start, and every community has its own slightly embarrassing list of daring initiatives that went nowhere or, worse, fell apart midstream. Yet the countervailing and more powerful truth — that great communities are set apart by the grand ambitions they have courageously realized — is too easily forgotten.
The San Diego region is no different than any other place in this respect. Actually, we are far luckier than most. Our civic landscape is alive with examples of the transformative power of bold ideas from the recent and not-so-recent past.
I think of our stunning array of universities, the research community here, Balboa Park, its truly singular cultural district, the Zoo, the Rady Shell, the CBX terminal, our lively downtown waterfront, the USS Midway, our military bases, the unique attributes of our distinctive cities and towns, and on down a list of ideas-made-real that shapes how we experience our remarkable county and communities every day.
Yet we are as prone as any place to the negativity bias engrained in human nature. As our foundation has leaned into supporting and advancing a set of more complex and ambitious initiatives over the past year — addressing the shameful public health crisis in the Tijuana River Valley, reimagining the tired heart of San Diego’s downtown, supporting the World Design Capital, getting behind problem solvers in Balboa Park — we have noticed two competing refrains in constant competition with each other.
One is enthusiasm, pure and simple. There is such a thirst and excitement in our community for big ideas and the will to pursue them. “Sign me up,” is a sentiment we hear often, along with “welcome to the party.” The other, though, is a well-honed algorithm of negativity, a kind of doom loop that runs on repeat. It consists of several competing thoughts, which I have come to think of it as The Seven-Step Guide to Killing Civic Innovation.
Here they are. First, deny the problem — what’s the point of a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist or isn’t important? Second, say it’s the wrong solution anyway — maybe there’s a problem but this sure isn’t the change we want. Third, affirm the status quo — we like things the way they are.
Fourth, say it’s already too late to fix the problem — this idea sure won’t solve it. Fifth, invoke the memory of past failures — we can’t do big things here so why bother? Sixth, attack the cost — why waste money like this? Seventh and finally, mock the idea — it’s elitist, out of touch, insufficient, silly, unrealistic, and doomed to failure.
This algorithm is hardly unique to San Diego. Just think about the national debate over climate change and how often progress has been stymied — often very intentionally — by the same defeatist logic.
But it really, genuinely makes no sense here. Sure, this community has had its share of failed dreams and stifled ambitions. We are as likely as any group of humans to endlessly debate the change we need and the change we want. But this is still the most positive, innovative, entrepreneurial town one could hope to land in.
Not long ago, my colleague Crystal Page and I had the artist Ramel Wallace on our “Stop and Talk” podcast, and we chatted about his delightful videos riffing on the concepts San Diegans have of themselves. One that would work perfectly well in that series is, “We’re from San Diego, so we perpetuate old narratives about ourselves.”
In some respects, at least, we do. And we should stop.
This is emphatically not a community where yesterday’s unachieved ambition is tomorrow’s destiny. To the contrary, as my team and I have traveled around this county, in the cities, on tribal lands, along the border, and in the heart of the innovation zones, what we detect is an emerging energy bubbling up everywhere to write new narratives and bring big ideas to the fore once again.
That is one reason I love projects like the World Design Capital, collaborative efforts to end the sewage crisis in the Tijuana River Valley and resolve Balboa Park’s governance and funding challenges, our San Diego Foundation partnership with local governments and anchor institutions to address the housing crisis, and the Downtown Partnership’s work with the City of San Diego to reinvent the Civic Center. They are, in a word, hard.
Big ideas generally are. But behind each of them is an ambitious vision for the region that will enrich the lives of everyone here.
The people behind them and the partners at the table are there despite the lazy criticisms in that seven-step guide to throttling civic innovation. They are not sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone to point the way — they are already in the race. And yes, some will fall short, but so what? What better place to be than in a community where people are constantly daring to reimagine an even better future?
For me, that has always been the genius of America’s nonprofit, civic, and purpose-driven business sector. And it is the genius of San Diego, where we not only dream big dreams, but we also manifest them.
Grant Oliphant is CEO of the Prebys Foundation, a major independent foundation working to strengthen San Diego’s future through a focus on impact in the arts, medical research and healthcare, youth development, and higher education.
