FresYes: How Fresno Fueled and Funded a Comeback

Recently termed-out Mayor Ashley Swearengin sits down for an exclusive interview about how she planned for high speed rail investments, championed sustainable water management, and took steps to rebuild the local economy.

2 minute read

March 30, 2017, 1:00 PM PDT

By rzelen @rzelen


Fresno State

David Prasad / Flickr

Over the past eight years, Fresno has been in the skilled hands of Ashley Swearengin. In an era of rapid private-sector innovation and relatively diminished public capacity, cities like Fresno have struggled to fund infrastructure and grow their economies due to changing conditions.

Fresno, however, managed to reduce costs and utilize the markets that were created by investments around California High Speed Rail. In an exclusive interview with The Planing Report, Swearengin speaks to how civic leadership reoriented the market and inspired reinvestment in the downtown core. Swearengin, who previously stated that "high-speed rail, by itself, will not be enough to move Fresno toward its vision," spoke to the need of maximizing housing and mixed-use development.  

Swearengin explains that "connecting Fresno to Silicon Valley in 45 minutes for $80 will absolutely be a game-changer for [Fresno], and for the whole Central Valley. As mayor, I wanted to make sure we did not let that incredible opportunity go to waste. That meant being very clear about how we could accommodate additional investment in a way that reinforced our revitalization goals, instead of setting up Fresno, and the whole Central Valley, for more sprawl."

Swearengin explains that Fresno "wanted to reorient the market that is opening up as a result of high-speed rail toward high-value development investment—not more cookie-cutter homes built on the periphery to access the transportation hub in Fresno. That’s why it was so important that we took on the land-use planning and regulatory changes, and the redirection of our infrastructure dollars." Otherwise, she worried that Fresno could end up with a scenario where it becomes so easy to access Silicon Valley that the Central Valley becomes nothing but a sprawling bedroom community forever.

The former mayor also talks about her new role as CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, seeking to enhance foundation, investor, and private sector investments in the region to support long-term sustainability and growth. 


Tuesday, March 14, 2017 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

April 18 - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive