What We Do
Shared Futures: Equity Across the Central Coast
Building partnerships and emphasizing community knowledge to advance equity across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.
Citrus in Los Angeles, Jose Ramirez, 2023, Acrylic and enamel on canvas
Our Mission
The Central Coast Regional Equity Initiative (CCREI) brings together research and community knowledge to identify critical disparities, honor the diversity of our region, and advance equity across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. We believe that academic research and the insights of those most affected by inequality are equally essential to developing innovative solutions. By fostering a collective, region-wide conversation and advancing a research-informed action agenda, the CCREI works to improve the lives of all residents, and especially the increasingly multiracial working-class communities who live, work, learn, and contribute to the vitality of our region.
Beet workers in Betteravia. No date. Image courtesy of the Edson Smith Photograph Collection, Santa Barbara Public Library
The Ventura Chinese Fire Brigade in a 1874 parade. The brigade was a mainstay of Chinatown, where it protected the wooden homes and businesses of the district and the rest of Ventura when called upon. Image courtesy of the Museum of Ventura County
Our Approach
The CCREI approaches equity research differently. Rather than designing studies from a distance, we begin by listening: engaging community organizations in open-ended consultations to establish the guiding questions and intended outcomes of our work. Community voices shape every stage of our research, from design through implementation.
We think regionally, because the challenges facing Central Coast residents do not stop at county lines. Issues like wage disparity, housing costs, low-wage jobs, and environmental hazards stretch across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and addressing them requires a tri-county lens.
We also recognize that these issues do not exist in isolation. Inequities based on race, class, disability, and other factors are deeply interconnected, reinforcing one another in ways that demand we study them together. This intersectional approach allows us to see the full picture of how our region’s economy and civic engagement reflects the contributions of all its residents.
Ultimately, we seek transformative change that aligns our analyses and recommendations with a long-term vision for economic equity and justice across the Central Coast.
Community-Led Research
The CCREI centers the voices of community members and leaders in each stage of our research design and implementation. Rather than starting research from a distance, the CCREI approaches community organizations in an open-ended consultation process to establish the guiding inquiries and intended outcomes of our projects.
Tri-County Focus
Since embarking on this work in 2019, we have expanded our scope to consider equity issues across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. We think regionally, because issues like wage disparity, housing costs, racial inequity, and environmental hazards do not stop at the county line.
Intersectional Analysis
We apply an intersectional approach, recognizing that inequities based on race, class, disability, and other factors are deeply interconnected—reinforcing one another in ways that demand we study them together, not in isolation.
Transformative Change
We seek to align our issue analyses and policy recommendations with a long-term vision for economic equity and justice on the Central Coast.