This is the fifteenth annual edition of Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County report! This report tracks data on 30 different “indicators,” or trends, each of which affects the health and prosperity of our county. It also highlights actions cities in the county are taking to move toward a more sustainable future.

The purpose of this annual report is to stimulate a communitywide dialogue about the long-term health of the county. A reflection of the wide range of issues facing our community, it covers diverse topics such as child care availability and water quality, disaster preparedness and community health. Taken together, each indicator shares a common thread: they all impact the economy, environment, and social equity of our community—the so called “triple bottom line” of sustainability. Propelled by the philosophy that “what gets measured gets managed,” this report aims to both educate the community about sustainability and bring the concept of sustainability into the mainstream of countywide decision making.

Though this is our fifteenth consecutive year in print, each year we add or subtract indicators, based on the availability of data and the level of interest within the community. The exclusion of any indicators that have been analyzed in previous editions does not reflect our belief that those indicators are no longer important, but rather the unavailability of new data or lack of print space to accommodate them.

To get a hard-copy of the report call the SSMC office at (650) 638-2323.