Special Survey of Orange County 2001

Introduction

The Orange County Survey - a collaborative effort of the Public Policy
Institute of California and the School of Social Ecology at the
University of California, Irvine - is a special edition of the PPIC
Statewide Survey. This is the first of an annual series of PPIC surveys
of Orange County.

Mark Baldassare, the director of the PPIC Statewide Survey, is the founder and
director of the Orange County Annual Survey at UCI and a former UCI
professor. 

The UCI survey was conducted 19 times from 1982 to 2000, so the Orange
County Survey collaboration between PPIC and UCI is an extension of earlier
survey efforts. 

The current survey was co-sponsored by UCI, with local support from Deloitte
and Touche, Pacific Life Foundation, Disneyland, Los Angeles Times, Orange
County Business Council, Orange County Division of League of California
Cities, Orange County Register, The Irvine Company, and United Way of
Orange County. 

                            
Orange County is the second most populous county in the state and one of
California's fastest growing and changing regions. The county is home to
2.8 million residents today, having gained nearly one million residents
since 1980. Three in four residents were white and non-Hispanic in 1980;
today, nearly half are Latinos and Asians. The county's dynamic economy
has become one of the leaders in the high-technology industry.

The county is a bellwether county in politics and the site of many important
governance issues, including a county-government bankruptcy, public
controversy over a proposed airport at the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air
Station, and the use and expansion of toll roads. There are also housing,
transportation, and environmental concerns related to development. Public
opinion findings are critical to informing discussions and resolving public debates
on these key issues. 

The purpose of this study is to inform policymakers by providing timely,
accurate, and objective information about policy preferences and economic,
social, and political trends. 

To measure changes over time, this survey of 2,004 adult residents
includes "benchmark" questions from earlier Orange County Annual Surveys.
It also includes key indicators from the PPIC Statewide Survey for
comparisons with the state and other major regions of California. We also
consider how regional racial and ethnic differences affect political,
social, and economic attitudes and policy preferences.