Sunday, Jun. 22, 2008

Modesto's image problem not external, but internal

Many longtime residents of Modesto have become increasingly disturbed by our reputation as a crime-ridden city whose only claim to fame is as the home of Scott Peterson and former stomping grounds of Rep. Gary Condit. Our consistently low ranking in studies of most-livable cities is not only a source of shame but also of puzzlement to those who have enjoyed living here for decades.

Some blame local and national media and their penchant for sensationalism, but sensationalism isn't specific to Modesto. It's everywhere, all the time. No, the truth is we are crime-ridden, we are the former home of Scott Peterson and we are the erstwhile neighborhood of Gary Condit. But those aren't our real problems. Our real problem is our failure to establish an identity and sense of place.

There was a time, during the mid-'80s, when we looked forward. Two progressive mayors envisioned Village I, a pedestrian-friendly, modern community that would herald a new era in Central Valley planning and development. Our role as the urban center of a famously productive agricultural cornucopia was a source of ongoing pride, and we looked forward to taking our place as leaders in the movement for smarter growth.

Since then, it's been all downhill.

Village I morphed into another among dozens of typical bedroom communities, with all the baggage we've grown accustomed to -- broken promises, missed deadlines and fee shortfalls.

Worse, when Modesto tried to see itself as part of a bigger picture called Stanislaus County, its leaders began backing a series of ever less popular projects, including Diablo Grande and a grandiose scheme for a megadump on the county's West Side involving a $14 million purchase of a ranch worth probably half that amount.

Lately, our salvation has been trumpeted in the form of thousands more houses in Salida and another grandiose scheme -- Gerry Kamilos' West Park. Meanwhile, the real estate market has taken another of its "gone south" vacations and Gov. Schwarzenegger has informed California residents they are officially experiencing a drought.

Amid all this bad news, on June 5, The New York Times featured a front-page story about both private and institutional investors "planning to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in agriculture, chiefly farmland, from sub-Saharan Africa to the English countryside." The title of the essay: "The Food Chain: Food Is Gold, So Billions Invested in Farming."

That seems increasingly ironic here in the agricultural heartland of the nation where we're covering farmland with tract homes and shopping centers.

Our willingness to trade nature's most precious soil and water for a boom-and-bust economy fueled by speculation, hype and "inevitable" growth may in the end offer a comparison to those early Americans who sold Manhattan for a few beads and trinkets. Even as housing prices continue to drop, it looks like there's a global run on the kind of ground we seem so intent on paving over. Wouldn't it be wiser, and even more profitable, to embrace our identity as the agricultural capital of the world?

Caine, a Modesto resident, teaches in the humanities department at Merced College. E-mail him at columns@modbee.com.