Over time, California's water in both residential and agricultural use has gone down, even as the population has gone up. California's (and SLO County's) water useage is overwhelmingly agricultural. However, about one-third of California's residential water use is for landscaping - not essential survival needs like washing or drinking. New homes, pipes, and appliances are up to four times as water-efficient as older models. We can save water for our agricultural lands, and essential residential uses, by building homes without thirsty lawns! South County is currently working to improve our water supply and infrastructure with the Central Coast Blue Project.

While there are many reasons a person may become homeless, homelessness is fundamentally a housing problem. When the average rent exceeds the average person's ability to pay, the risks of homelessness go up. Access to mental health and addiction resources are important in sucessfully transitioning many of our unsheltered neighbors into housing, but keeping an abundant supply of housing keeps people from becoming homeless in the first place. 

Crime has many causes - from poverty, to lack of employment opportunities. Author and urbanist Jane Jacobs wrote extensively about how crime is prevented by "eyes on the street," or by the presence of the neighbors who live there. Thoughtful urban design can actually reduce crime by opening up the public square to the eyes of people who live in the area, particularly when those neighbors are walking instead of driving.