The Thriving
Salton Sea
Communities
A United Region Deserving of More
Scroll
A United Region Deserving of More
Scroll
Start by clicking on one of the alignments above. Then drill down further into some of the policy priorities to understand which communities have policies that promote those themes.
Jurisdiction | Policy Identifier | Policy Category | Policy Description | Strategy List |
---|
These areas are home to predominantly Latino immigrant communities, many of whom work as low-wage farm laborers or in service jobs that support a relatively prosperous surrounding economy. Despite the richness of culture and contribution, the region faces shared challenges: environmental degradation (from the drying Salton Sea, extreme heat, and polluted air and water), limited public infrastructure and amenities, economic inequality, climate vulnerability, and pressing public health concerns.
Yet, our region is also bound by a collective vision: one of shared economic opportunity, environmental resilience, and improved social well-being. This vision draws from the principles of Solidarity Economics, which emphasize mutuality, fairness, and inclusion as pathways to broad-based prosperity. To realize this future, we must begin by building a strong, unified regional identity—one that uplifts all communities and ensures that no one is left behind.
The driving force behind this regional engagement has been to address the historical underinvestment in Salton Sea communities. We believe that for smaller rural communities, developing a regional identity and capacity for collaboration is key to increasing competitiveness and securing resources.
Since 2020, roundtable meetings in the Salton Sea region have fostered collaboration among local, regional, and state governments, as well as NGOs and academia. These convenings took place in March 2021, April 2022, August 2022, November 2023, February 2025, April 2025, and June 2025. They are planned to continue as we see the importance of dialogue, coordination and ultimately collaboration in order to advance the Salton Sea region into a prosperous future for all.
These conversations have informed the creation of the Our Salton Sea report, which provides a more integrated vision for the remediation of the Salton Sea communities, and the Land Use Alignment Initiative, an analysis of general plan elements across jurisdictions surrounding the Salton Sea that identifies areas of mutual priority.
Alianza Coachella Valley has engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders, including:
To counter a persistent false narrative that our counties and jurisdictions are divided, Alianza Coachella Valley and its partners launched the Land Use Alignment Initiative. Through community-grounded conversations and research, we found that neighboring jurisdictions across both counties actually share far more in common than is often acknowledged by state and federal agencies.
The initiative confirmed what local communities have long known: we all want the same things for our region–economic opportunity, environmental health, and a better quality of life. The real challenge lies not in our differences, but in how we communicate our shared goals among ourselves, with our residents, and to outside stakeholders.
Icons CC BY 3.0 The Noun Project. Didik Darmanto, Larea, Omah Icon, Khulqi Rosyid. Project Design by Richard Koci Hernandez and Jeremy Sanchez Rue.