Malin Burnham Center of Civic Engagement to Oversee ‘Greater San Diego Vision’

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Retired real estate executive Malin Burnham has donated $5 million seed money to create the Malin Burnham Center of Civic Engagement. Signon San Diego reports the organization will be housed at the San Diego Foundation in Point Loma and Bob Dynes, former president of the University of California and UCSD chancellor, will be chairman. A director is planned to be hired by the end of the year. The San Diego Foundation is determined to see “Our Greater San Diego Vision” come to completion and to successfully guide the county’s growth in the following 50 to 100 years. The Burnham grant will offer around $250,000 per year according to the foundation’s president and chief executive Bob Kelly. The remaining $2 million operating budget will be provided by the foundation.

The project aims to target physical changes and institutional reforms necessary for the accommodation of an expected 1.3 million increase in the population over the following 40 years. The main areas of focus will be education, housing, jobs, transportation and various elements that influence the quality of life such as libraries and parks.

The public opinion will be the key of the future strategy and a survey will be carried out in November with the best scenario adopted following a report which is expected in March.