State of change: Growth defines California in new century

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2002 | 9:59 a.m.

Throughout its modern history, California's story has been one of growth, from the arrival of the Spaniards through the Gold Rush and Dust Bowl migrations and the influx of immigrants from Latin America and Asia in recent decades.

The state enters the 21st Century almost 35 million strong, and adding the equivalent of another Los Angeles every five years.

The sheer numbers - and the accompanying shifts in the state's ethnic and economic mix - affect daily life in a thousand ways.

California is becoming more ethnically diverse, even in its far-flung suburbs. At the same time, it's becoming more stratified as the gap widens between rich and poor.

The state is adding young people and old people faster than it's adding adults of working age - a little-noticed trend with big implications for schools, taxpayers and the health system.

Growth, once sought for its economic benefits, has become a bad word in many quarters. Californians escape to the suburbs and then pull up the drawbridge against new neighbors; schools pack students into portable classrooms and struggle to teach kids in dozens of languages; campers and beachgoers remember the good old days when it didn't require admission fees and online reservations to enjoy the great outdoors.

And everywhere, there's traffic.

California has 24 million vehicles, and expects to add 10 million more in the next 20 years. Today's stories examine the consequences and choices.