Blurred Borders - International Community Foundation

26.2 million visitors spending in excess of $5 billion. Fifty-two mega conventions and trade
shows were also held in San Diego that year bringing in over 331,000 convention delegates to
the region. 347
Beyond strategic assets, the private sector in both San Diego and Tijuana are also working
together to collectively respond to border delays and the proposed US VISIT program. Here
the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce has provided real leadership to educate civic
leaders in both San Diego and Tijuana about the potential risks of proceeding with a land-based
visa exit program without adequate funding and infrastructure. Civic organizations are also
weighing in on energy security (with the recent construction of a gas powered plant in Mexicali)
and the proposed plans for liquefied natural gas facilities near Ensenada. Here Tijuana Trabaja
has provided leadership in highlighting the need for greater community dialogue on binational
issues related to natural gas.
The level of civic engagement between San Diego-Tijuana has also been enhanced thanks to the
work of the San Diego Dialogue over the past decade, particularly on the issue of border
crossing delays. Significant strides have been made by the San Diego Association of
Governments (SANDAG), which convenes key policymakers through its Committee on
Binational Regional Opportunities (COBRO) and Borders Committee on a wide range of crossborder
issues related to transportation infrastructure, border crossings, health, and the
environment. Sign.On San Diego and Tijuana’s daily newspaper Frontera are also helping to
improve the level of cross-border news and information through an innovative content-sharing
initiative.
The Immigration Museum of the New Americans has recently established a “Transnational
Communities Program” with a commitment to assist hometown associations, including those
from communities across Mexico, to better organize, promote institutional capacity-building
and leadership development. More recently through a unique civic partnership between KPBS,
SignOnSanDiego.com and SDSU's International Center for Communications, Envision San
Diego has been recently launched to enhance citizen awareness of and commitment to solving
major public policy issues affecting the San Diego-Tijuana region.
Collaboration has also begun between the County of San Diego, the Municipality of Tijuana and
their corresponding environmental agencies, including the U.S. EPA, specific to emergency
planning and response for the San Diego-Tijuana border region and there are future plans to
include the collaboration of non governmental sector specific to community responses for
specific emergencies or crisis (e.g. chemical spill, bio-terrorism attack, or an earthquake).
While San Diego and Tijuana have many collective assets, all too often, the communities treat
each other as distant neighbors. This is especially true since 9/11 as border delays, heightened
security concerns, and increased binational tensions over U.S. immigration policy have
increased the divisions between our two neighboring communities.
347 San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau. 2004.
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