CHANGING STATES A FRAMEWORK FOR PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE USC PROGRAM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND REGIONAL EQUITY BY MANUEL PASTOR, JENNIFER ITO, AND MADELINE WANDER MAY 2016 PRIMARY AUTHORS Manuel Pastor Jennifer Ito Madeline Wander CONTRIBUTORS Chris Benner Vanessa Carter Robert Chlala Jared Sanchez Alejandro Sanchez-Lopez ABOUT USC PROGRAM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND REGIONAL EQUITY Established in 2007, the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) is a research center within the University of Southern California (USC) Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences. PERE conducts research and facilitates discussions on issues of environmental justice, regional inclusion, and social-movement building. PERE’s work is rooted in three R’s: rigor, relevance, and reach. It conducts high-quality research in its focus areas that is relevant to public policy concerns and that reaches to those directly-affected communities that most need to be engaged in the discussion. In general, it seeks and supports direct collaborations with community-based organizations in research and other activities, trying to forge a new model of how university and community can work together for the common good. For more information, please visit http://dornsife.usc.edu/pere. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 6 PROJECT PURPOSE AND METHODS .....................................................................................................................................................................................7 REPORT ROADMAP ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................7 PATHWAYS TO PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................. 9 DEFINING PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................................................................................................10 STATES VERSUS STATES ........................................................................................................................................................................................................10 A CHALLENGE TO PROGRESSIVES .......................................................................................................................................................................................11 CHANGING STATES FRAMEWORK: CONDITIONS, ARENAS, CAPACITIES ................................................. 13 CONDITIONS FOR CHANGE ....................................................................................................................................................................................................15 ARENAS OF CHANGE ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................21 CAPACITIES FOR CHANGE ......................................................................................................................................................................................................34 FROM THEORY TO APPLICATION: LESSONS FROM FIVE STATES ............................................................. 36 NEVADA ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................38 NORTH CAROLINA ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................40 OHIO ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................42 TEXAS .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................44 WASHINGTON ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................46 LOOKING FORWARD: TEN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FIELD ............................................................ 48 GEOGRAPHY OF CHANGE ........................................................................................................................................................................................................50 STRATEGIC ARENAS OF CHANGE ..........................................................................................................................................................................................52 POWER BUILDING ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................54 PUTTING THE IMPERATIVES TO WORK ................................................................................................................................................................................57 CONCLUSION: BEYOND 2016 .................................................................................................................... 59 SELECTED REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 60 APPENDIX A. ADDITIONAL PROJECT RESOURCES ................................................................................... 62 PATHWAYS TOWARD PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE: THE CHANGING STATES ARENAS ...........................................................................................62 PUTTING PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE IN PLACE: THE CHANGING STATES FRAMEWORK IN ACTION ..............................................................62 ARENAS OF CHANGE BRIEFS ................................................................................................................................................................................................62 MAPPING PROGRESSIVE GOVERNANCE: THE CHANGING STATES DATA AND TOOLS.............................................................................................62 INTERVIEW PROTOCOL ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................63 APPENDIX B. DETAILED EXPLANATION OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................. 64 APPENDIX C. LIST INTERVIEWEES ............................................................................................................ 66 APPENDIX D. LIST OF STRATEGIC ADVISORS ........................................................................................... 68 ENDNOTES ................................................................................................................................................ 69 IMAGE CREDITS .......................................................................................................................................... 72 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It certainly took a village to complete this multi-year, We also thank: Communications Specialist Gladys multi-state, multi-product project. For being part of Malibiran and former Communications Intern Chrystal our village, we first and foremost thank the organizers, Li for so beautifully designing this and other Changing advocates, strategists, elected officials, funders, States products; former Graduate Researchers Heddy academics, and many more whom we interviewed as Nam, Sheila Nem, and Stephanie Canizales for working we traversed the country. We also thank the strategic on the literature review and site visit prep; Undergraduate advisors who let us share (occasionally misdirected) Researcher Erika Petroy, Graduate Researchers Sandy Lo preliminary ideas with them in the form of two rather and Victor Sanchez, and Data Analyst Pamela Stephens lengthy webinars. We list all the interviewees and advisors for research support and data checks; Administrative in appendices of this report. The collective wisdom from Assistant Lauren Portillo for covering logistics at both these interviews and convenings deeply informed our convenings; and long-time colleague and collaborator analysis and recommendations—and we could not be UC Santa Cruz Professor Chris Benner for conducting more grateful to them for taking the time to share their interviews in Nevada and Texas and providing guidance experiences and knowledge with us. and writing support along the way. This project generated a wide range of products and For whatever insights we offer, much of the credit is due required a team effort. The authors thank the following to this support system;