To view a UCSD-TV documentary describing the RWBC's vision, tools and projects, click here

The Regional Workbench Consortium (RWBC) is a collaborative network of university and community-based partners dedicated to enabling sustainable city-region development. We promote multidisciplinary research and service learning aimed at understanding how problems of environment and development interrelate across local, regional and global scales.

The RWBC focuses on the Southern California-Northern Baja California transborder region--especially the San Diego-Tijuana city-region and coastal zone. RWBC partners come from academia, industry, government, and community organizations. Our partnership-driven approach explicitly integrates issues of equity, environmental stewardship, and economic efficiency (the so-called 3 Es of sustainable development). In the process, we are weaving together innovative advances in three domains: Information and Communications Technology, New Regionalism, and Sustainability Science.

The RWBC is building a trusted Internet-based research portal and toolkit (i.e., workbench) to facilitate problem-driven projects that require region-wide data integration and information sharing. Currently we are placing a major emphasis on GIS, Quality of Life Indicators and on-line interactive mapping. Specific projects currently focus on water, toxics, housing, community development, land use and regional planning. Our aim is to create more efficient, interactive, and equitable methods for integrating university-based science with the fast-changing needs of industry, government, non-profit and community-based organizations. The RWBC also serves as a platform for innovative education, outreach and workforce development.

NOTE: The RWBC steering committee conducts open public meetings every other Monday for about two hours in UCSD's Social Sciences Building, SSB 102. You can find out the exact time and place of meetings by checking the RWBC calender on this site (click here). Directions to the RWBC's ususal meeting location, and nearby parking, is also posted on this site (cick here).

Presentation to the Business Council for Sustainable Development,
December 11, 2003 8 megabyte ppt

RWBC's main source of funding: the Superfund Basic Research Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, click here for details on the competive renewal process.