LA QUINTA – (INT) – Southern California’s growing pains came to the forefront during a 2-day planning discussion of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).

The 6-county region is expected to add 4 million people over the next 25 years. That poses challenges for mobility, air quality, housing, educational attainment and economic opportunity. Today, one in four children in the region live in poverty.

Housing affordability in Southern California has become an increasingly elusive goal. While we have jobs lost during the Great Recession have been recovered, stagnant wages and sky-high home prices are impacting what people can buy and where they live and work.

Meantime, the "Silver Tsunami" is here. Every month, more than a quarter-million Americans turn 65, and about 10,000 of them retire each day. As baby boomers move on, they also move forward, looking for smaller homes, walkable neighborhoods, and proximity to family and friends.

SCAG’s 2-day conference was held at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta.

Story Date: May 11, 2016