Long Beach, California is a city of over 460,000 people located south of Los Angeles known for its beaches, port, and diversity. It has a busy port that also creates air and noise pollution problems. However, the city has many cultural and natural assets that outweigh challenges, including beaches, parks, diversity, and proximity to Los Angeles.

1. Leadership and Imagination Final Imagination Project Susanne Desmond The city of Long Beach is my home. I have lived and visited several cities across the United States, and have chosen to return to Long Beach to remain. I love this city and all that it has to offer. Here is my interpretation of the opportunities it offers as well as the overwhelming assets it brings along with those opportunities.

2. See and See Again “When you change the way you see things, the things you see change.” -Anonymous

3. Long Beach is a city located in southern Los Angeles County, California. It borders Orange County on its southeast edge, about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Long Beach is the 35th-largest city in the nation and the 5th-largest in California. As of 2005, its estimated population was 463,956. As a coastal community with such a large population and so much industry, the city can be beautiful, peaceful and lovely. It can also be busy, loud and perhaps frustrating. Either way, how you see it, depends upon how you look at it. Long Beach, CA

4. Busy- Busy! Long Beach is situated on San Pedro Bay, just south of Los Angeles. Long Beach is a major industrial port, ranked second-busiest in the U.S. and tenth-busiest in the world

5. Guiding Light Lion's Lighthouse for Sight in the Long Beach Harbor was built in 2000, it contains a focal plane 105 ft./65 ft steel tower with the harbor master's office in the base. This lighthouse helps guide ships into the harbor. More cargo and containers move through the Port of Long Beach than any other United States Port.

6. Traffic! See 3.29% 49,128 90 or more minutes 6.84% 102,286 60 to 89 minutes 8.88% 132,776 45 to 59 minutes 4.17% 62,299 40 to 44 minutes 2.75% 41,092 35 to 39 minutes 17.72% 264,944 30 to 34 minutes 5.67% 84,762 25 to 29 minutes 14.37% 214,813 20 to 24 minutes 14.06% 210,165 15 to 19 minutes 10.77% 160,950 10 to 14 minutes 6.03% 90,118 5 to 9 minutes 1.33% 19,867 Less than 5 minutes 95.87% 1,433,200 Did not work at home 100.00% 1,494,895 Total Workers Age 16+ Percent Number 2000 Census Travel Time to Work

7. According to recent studies, children living close to freeways have a two-fold increase in risk for asthma. Teens growing up in southern California communities with high rates of pollution from traffic have a five-fold risk of reduced lung function.

8. The citizens of Long Beach have addressed concerns that increased air and noise pollution within the City limits are adversely affecting their health. The primary concern centers around the emission of pollutants from the major transportation sources (freeways, ports, airport, and truck/rail traffic), as well as the noise from the airport, and their impact on the residents

9. Cargo-Liscious The Port of Long Beach is one of the biggest ports for imported goods from China on the globe. It is estimated that in 2003, 36 billion dollars worth of new consumer products came into Long Beach, CA daily. Without the port, how would the USA stock it’s shelves?

10. Crowds Off the Coast Long Beach harbor is often filled with large vessels that could make the view not quite so lovely.

11. Catalina Island However, just beyond all those vessels, is beautiful Santa Catalina Island. Just 22 miles across the sea, is Avalon, where visitors may spot a wild buffalo or snorkel in crystal clear waters. Catalina Island is just a one-hour boat trip away.

12. Perfect Weather!?! See Again… Source: USTravelWeather.com 1.76 1.12 0.4 0.24 0.1 0.02 0.08 0.23 0.6 2.43 3.01 2.95 Precip (in) 28 34 39 50 52 51 47 40 38 33 33 25 Rec Low °F 45.3 50.1 58.3 63.7 65.6 64.6 61.3 57.8 53.2 50.4 48.1 46 Norm Low °F 68.8 73.4 78.9 83.1 84.6 82.9 78.3 74 72.7 68.9 68.5 68 Norm High °F 92 101 111 110 105 107 109 104 105 98 91 93 Rec High °F Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan Month Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures

13. Sand and Snow Long Beach surfers can spend the morning catching waves, hop in the car, drive to Big Bear, and be on the ski/snowboard slopes within 3 hours!

14. Let’s Go to the Beach! Long Beach has approximately 7 miles of public beach and may be visited by over 50,000 people during the summer months.

15. Safe Beach In order to protect the safety of the public, weekly water samples are collected and tested routinely by the Health Department's Environmental Health Water Quality Monitoring Program to monitor bacterial levels. Source: City of Long Beach

16. Pollution Storm water pollution is a major source of water pollution in Long Beach. It can cause declines in fisheries, disrupt habitats, and limit water recreation activities. Even more importantly, storm water pollution poses a serious threat to the overall health of the ecosystem.

17. Sensory Overload A walk down the pier in the fog is not only visually interesting, the dampness on my skin and the deep sound of fog horns resonate off the sand .

18. Too Many People? Major technology and aerospace corporations such Gulfstream and Raytheon have large facilities in Long Beach, while Boeing continues to be the top employer, with over 17,000 employees.

19. Architectural Wonders High rise buildings catch the sunset and reflect the beauty of the surroundings.

20. Island in the Sun? This is not an island. The façade of a tower building was created to surround the oil rig so as not to be an eye sore for those looking off the coast.

21. The Litter After people leave the beach, parks, office buildings and places of work, there is often a memorable remainder left for the city’s residents to “enjoy.”

22. Community Team Building Once a month, every month, we join together to make a difference. More than 2,000 volunteers worked to rid tons of debris at the monthly 30-Minute Beach Cleanups.

23. Dirty Deeds! Litter not only dirties the land, but also the ocean and bays.

24. America’s Cup Due to the optimal weather, water current and coastal conditions off of Long Beach, The America’s Cup sailing race has departed several years from Long Beach Harbor .

25. Red Tide Red Tide" is a common name for an event in which algae accumulate rapidly in the water. These algae, are microscopic organisms that can form dense, visible patches near the water's surface.

26. Dangerous Tide? The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities among marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals and other organism s.

27. A Dog’s Life Dog Fancy magazine has labeled Long Beach a top ten Dog Friendly US City and Long Beach boasts a leash free dog beach.

28. Crowd-Free Airport Long Beach Municipal airport has only 12 terminals with thousands of flights connecting to hundreds of cities. Travelers can get through security and onto their destination in less than 30 minutes from the time they leave their car.

29. Metropolitan Pollution 2007 Rank Los Angeles- Long Beach -Riverside, CA Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA Fresno-Madera, CA Bakersfield, CA Source: American Lung Association

30. Sunsets That Remain Due to several areas of elevation throughout Long Beach, the wonder of the sun setting in the Pacific ocean can be see from several parts of the city.

31. Deep Breathing Although there can be dense smog or marine layer in the air at times; after a rainy or a windy day, the clean, crisp sky can be visible.

32. See Discrimination? 95,107 Other race 770 Other Pacific Islander 3,951 Samoan 306 Guamanian 5,605 Hawaiian/Pac. Islander 22,266 Other Asian 5,074 Vietnamese 1,608 Korean 3,147 Japanese 18,608 Filipino 3,550 Chinese 1,338 Asian Indian 55,591 Asian 3,881 Amer. Ind. /AA Native 68,618 Black or Afr. American 208,41 White

33. See Again Cultural Diversity! 95,107 Other race 770 Other Pacific Islander 3,951 Samoan 306 Guamanian 5,605 Hawaiian/Pac. Islander 22,266 Other Asian 5,074 Vietnamese 1,608 Korean 3,147 Japanese 18,608 Filipino 3,550 Chinese 1,338 Asian Indian 55,591 Asian 3,881 Amer. Ind. /AA Native 68,618 Black or Afr. American 208,41 White

34. Graffiti? Spray paint artists took an opportunity to leave their mark on the city.

35. Art! Several local college students created a work of art out of an abandoned structure that had become adorned with graffiti.

36. Mass of Humanity The Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is held every April on the streets of downtown. The race blocks many thoroughfare roads, creates traffic congestion, litter, parking challenges, noise and chaos.

37. Start Your Engines The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach draws world-class drivers and racing fans from around the world. The race and a week of activities preceding the weekend brings in millions of dollars in revenue for the city.

38. Skin Heads? In 1988 in Long Beach grunge band S ublime steadily escalated from a group of backyard beer buddies to a renown musical entity.

39. Keep Your Eye on the Ball California State University, Long Beach’s Pyramid sports complex offers a variety of exciting and nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics, including basketball, baseball and volleyball.

40. Don’t Miss the Ship The historic Queen Mary offers shops and savory cuisine in fine restaurants. When your explorations tire you out, you can book a room at the art deco, 365-room Hotel Queen Mary

41. Small Town Feel in a Big City As the fifth largest city in California, Long Beach offers its residents a warm climate, sandy beaches and numerous amenities right in their own backyard .

42. See Again When we decrease our focus on what is wrong, and increase our focus on what is right, we can see a whole new city. Long Beach may have it’s traffic, crime, a huge population, smog, pollution and very similar seasons…When we consider all of these “faults” the assets this city and community offer far outweigh the opportunities it faces. The aesthetic, implied and physical beauty of the people and the city itself brings attention to the city’s strengths, generosity, brilliance and attractive qualities.

43. References Articles . (2007). Retrieved December 4, 2007, from City of Long Beach Web site: http://www.ci.long-beach.ca.us/ City of Long Beach (2007). Retrieved December 5, 2007, from Los Angeles Almanac Web site: http://www.laalmanac.com/LongBeach/index.htm Demographic Profiles (2007). Retrieved December 6, 2007, from City of Long Beach Web site: http://www.longbeach.gov/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=1890 Monthly Beach Clean Up (2007). Retrieved December 5, 2007, from Community Action Team Web site: http://www.communityactionteam.org/ Reenvisioning the Landscape of Children’s Health . (2007). Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Pediatric Asthma Organization Web site: http:/​/​ www.pediatricasthma.org /​ community_coalitions /​ long_beach_ca The Port of Long Beach (2007). Retrieved December 9, 2007, from Port of Long Beach Web site: http://www.polb.com/ Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (2007). Retrieved December 4, 2007, from Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Web site: http://www.gplb.com/ Traffic Statistics Retrieved December 6, 2007, from Los Angeles Almanac Web site: http://www.laalmanac.com/LA/la13.htm Vessel Traffic (2007). Retrieved December 5, 2007, from Los Angeles Almanac Web site: http://www.laalmanac.com/transport/tr47.htm