San Diego on:  
[Wikipedia]  
[Google]  
[Amazon]
; , ) is a city on the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
coast of
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
located immediately adjacent to the
Mexico–United States border
The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...
. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932,
it is the
eighth-most populous city in the United States and the
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair (furniture), ...
of
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...
, the
fifth-most populous county in the United States, with 3,286,069 estimated residents .
The city is known for its mild year-round
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
, natural deep-water
harbor
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
, extensive beaches and parks, long association with the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, and recent emergence as a healthcare and
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
development center. San Diego is the
second largest city in the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
after
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
Historically home to the
Kumeyaay
The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...
Native Americans, San Diego has been referred to as the Birthplace of California, since it was the first site visited and settled by Europeans on what is now the
U.S. West Coast
The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. ...
. Upon landing in
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...
in 1542,
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...
claimed the area for
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, forming the basis for the settlement of
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
200 years later. The
Presidio
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...
and
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá ( es, Misión San Diego de Alcalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in The Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it w ...
, founded in 1769, formed the first European settlement in what is now California. In 1821, San Diego became part of the newly declared
Mexican Empire Mexican Empire may refer to:
* First Mexican Empire, the regime under Agustín de Iturbide (Agustín I) from 1821 to 1823
* Second Mexican Empire
The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy est ...
, which reformed as the
First Mexican Republic
The First Mexican Republic, known also as the First Federal Republic ( es, Primera República Federal, link=no), was a Federal republic, federated republic, under the Constitution of 1824. It was a nation-state officially designated the United M ...
two years later. California became part of the U.S. in 1848 following the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
and was admitted to the union as a state in 1850.
San Diego's main economic engines are military and defense-related activities, tourism, international trade, research, and manufacturing. The city is the economic center of the
San Diego–Tijuana
San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2012 population of the reg ...
conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
, the second-most populous
transborder metropolitan area in the
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...
(after
Detroit–Windsor
The Detroit–Windsor region is an international transborder agglomeration comprising the American city of Detroit, Michigan, the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, Windsor, Ontario, and the Detroit River between them. The Detroit–Windsor area a ...
), home to an estimated 4,922,723 people . The primary border crossing between San Diego and
Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
, the
San Ysidro Port of Entry
__NOTOC__
The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest if one exclu ...
, is the busiest international land border crossing in the world outside of Asia (
fourth-busiest overall). The city's airport,
San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport , formerly known as Lindbergh Field, is an international airport northwest of Downtown San Diego, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.. US Federa ...
, is the busiest single-
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
airport in the world.
History
Pre-colonial period
![Kumeyaay (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Kumeyaay_%28cropped%29.jpg)
What has been referred to as the
San Dieguito complex
The San Dieguito complex is an archaeological pattern left by early Holocene inhabitants of Southern California and surrounding portions of the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Radiocarbon dating places a 10,200 BP (Before Prese ...
was established in the area at least 9,000 years ago. The
Kumeyaay
The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...
may have culturally evolved from this complex or migrated into the area around 1000 C.E. Archaeologist
Malcolm Rogers hypothesized that the early cultures of San Diego were separate from the
Kumeyaay
The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...
, yet this claim is disputed, with others noting that it does not account for
cultural evolution
Cultural evolution is an evolutionary theory of social change. It follows from the definition of culture as "information capable of affecting individuals' behavior that they acquire from other members of their species through teaching, imitation a ...
.
Rogers later reevaluated his claims, yet they were influential in shaping historical tellings of early San Diego history.
The Kumeyaay established villages scattered across the region, including the village of
Kosa'aay
Kosa'aay was a Kumeyaay village in what is now Old Town, San Diego.
Etymology
In the Kumeyaay language, Kosa’aay translates to “drying out place”. During Spanish settlement, the name was Hispanicized to Cosoy.
Population
The village was ma ...
which was the Kumeyaay village that the future settlement of San Diego would stem from in today's
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
.
The village of Kosa'aay was made up of thirty to forty families living in pyramid-shaped housing structures and was supported by a freshwater spring from the hillsides.
Spanish period
The first European to visit the region was explorer
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...
, sailing under the flag of
Castile but possibly
born in Portugal. Sailing his flagship ''San Salvador'' from
Navidad, New Spain, Cabrillo claimed the bay for the
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in 1542, and named the site "San Miguel". In November 1602,
Sebastián Vizcaíno
Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Asia.
Early career
Vizcaíno was born in 154 ...
was sent to map the California coast. Arriving on his flagship ''San Diego'', Vizcaíno surveyed the harbor and what are now
Mission Bay and
Point Loma
Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
and named the area for the Catholic
Saint Didacus, a
Spaniard
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...
more commonly known as ''San Diego de Alcalá''. On November 12, 1602, the first Christian religious service of record in
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
was conducted by Friar Antonio de la Ascensión, a member of Vizcaíno's expedition, to celebrate the feast day of San Diego.
The permanent
European colonization
The historical phenomenon of colonization is one that stretches around the globe and across time. Ancient and medieval colonialism was practiced by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Turks, and the Arabs.
Colonialism in the modern sense began ...
of both California and San Diego began in 1769 with the arrival of four contingents of Spaniards from New Spain and the
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
peninsula. Two seaborne parties reached San Diego Bay: the ''San Carlos'', under Vicente Vila and including as notable members the engineer and cartographer
Miguel Costansó Miguel Costansó (1741–1814), original name Miquel Constançó, was a Catalan engineer, cartographer and cosmographer. He joined the expedition of exploration of Alta California led by Gaspar de Portolá and Junípero Serra, serving aboard ship a ...
and the soldier and future governor
Pedro Fages
Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, first Lieutenant Governor of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's death, acting as governor in opposition to the official governor ...
, and the ''San Antonio'', under
Juan Pérez. An initial overland expedition to San Diego from the south was led by the soldier
Fernando Rivera
Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...
and included the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
missionary, explorer, and chronicler
Juan Crespí
Joan Crespí or Juan Crespí (1 March 1721 – 1 January 1782) was a Franciscan missionary and explorer of Las Californias.
Biography
A native of Majorca, Crespí entered the Franciscan order at the age of seventeen. He came to New Spain in ...
, followed by a second party led by the designated governor
Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar is a given and/or surname of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish origin, cognate to Casper (given name) or Casper (surname).
It is a name of biblical origin, per Saint Gaspar, one of the wise men mentioned in the Bible.
Notable peo ...
and including the mission president (and now saint)
Junípero Serra
Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size ...
.
![Mission San Diego, c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Mission_San_Diego%2C_c._1820.jpg)
In May 1769, Portolà established the Fort
Presidio of San Diego
El Presidio Real de San Diego (Royal Presidio of San Diego) is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, leader of the first European land exploration of Alta California—at that time an ...
on a hill near the
San Diego River
The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. It originates in the Cuyamaca Mountains northwest of the town of Julian, then flows to the southwest until it reaches the El Capitan Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the river's ...
above the Kumeyaay village of Cosoy,
which would later become incorporated into the Spanish settlement,
making it the first settlement by Europeans in what is now the state of California. In July of the same year,
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá ( es, Misión San Diego de Alcalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in The Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it w ...
was founded by Franciscan friars under Serra. The mission became a site for a Kumeyaay revolt in 1775, which forced the mission to relocate up the San Diego River. By 1797, the mission boasted the largest native population in Alta California, with over 1,400 neophytes living in and around the mission proper. Mission San Diego was the southern anchor in
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
of the historic mission trail
El Camino Real. Both the Presidio and the Mission are
National Historic Landmarks
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.
Mexican period
![José_María_Estudillo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Jos%C3%A9_Mar%C3%ADa_Estudillo.jpg)
In 1821,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
won its independence from Spain, and San Diego became part of the Mexican territory of
Alta California
Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
. In 1822, Mexico began its attempt to extend its authority over the coastal territory of Alta California. The fort on Presidio Hill was gradually abandoned, while the town of San Diego grew up on the level land below Presidio Hill. The Mission was
secularized by the Mexican government in 1834, and most of the Mission lands were granted to former soldiers. The 432
residents of the town petitioned the governor to form a
pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
, and
Juan María Osuna
Juan María Osuna (1785 – March 5, 1851) was an early settler of San Diego, California.
Life
Juan María Osuna was born 1785 in California to Juan Hismerio Osuna and Maria Alvarado. He was a soldier and corporal of the San Diego Company and ...
was elected the first ''
alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
'' ("municipal magistrate"), defeating
Pío Pico
Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of ...
in the vote. Beyond the town, Mexican
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
s expanded the number of
California ranchos
The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...
that modestly added to the local economy. (See, ''
List of pre-statehood mayors of San Diego
This is a list of pre-statehood alcaldes and mayors of San Diego, from 1770 to 1850, during the Spanish, Mexican, and early American periods, prior to California's admission to statehood.
Commandants of the Presidio of San Diego
From 1770 San Di ...
''.)
However, San Diego had been losing population throughout the 1830s, due to increasing tension between the settlers and the indigenous
Kumeyaay
The Kumeyaay, also known as Tipai-Ipai or by their historical Spanish name Diegueño, is a tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas who live at the northern border of Baja California in Mexico and the southern border of California in the Unit ...
and in 1838 the town lost its pueblo status because its size dropped to an estimated 100 to 150 residents. The
ranchos in the San Diego region would face Kumeyaay raids in the late 1830s and the town itself would face raids in the 1840s.
Americans gained an increased awareness of California, and its commercial possibilities, from the writings of two countrymen involved in the often officially forbidden, to foreigners, but economically significant hide and tallow trade, where San Diego was a major port and the only one with an adequate harbor:
William Shaler
William Shaler (1773 – March 29, 1833) was an American government official who served as a diplomat and confidential agent in several foreign locations, including Algiers, Mexico and Cuba.
Life and career
William Shaler was born in Bridgepo ...
's "Journal of a Voyage Between China and the North-Western Coast of America, Made in 1804" and
Richard Henry Dana's more substantial and convincing account, of his 1834–36 voyage, the classic ''
Two Years Before the Mast
''Two Years Before the Mast'' is a memoir by the American author Richard Henry Dana Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the ...
''.
![Casa de Estudillo courtyard 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Casa_de_Estudillo_courtyard_04.jpg)
In 1846, the United States went to war against Mexico and sent a naval and land
expedition to conquer Alta California. At first, they had an easy time of it, capturing the major ports including San Diego, but the Californios in southern Alta California struck back. Following the successful revolt in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, the American garrison at San Diego was driven out without firing a shot in early October 1846. Mexican partisans held San Diego for three weeks until October 24, 1846, when the Americans recaptured it. For the next several months the Americans were blockaded inside the pueblo. Skirmishes occurred daily and snipers shot into the town every night. The Californios drove cattle away from the pueblo hoping to starve the Americans and their Californio supporters out. On December 1, the American garrison learned that the dragoons of General
Stephen W. Kearney
Stephen Watts Kearny (sometimes spelled Kearney) ( ) (August 30, 1794October 31, 1848) was one of the foremost antebellum frontier officers of the United States Army. He is remembered for his significant contributions in the Mexican–American Wa ...
were at
Warner's Ranch
Warner's Ranch, near Warner Springs, California, was notable as a way station for large numbers of emigrants on the Southern Emigrant Trail from 1849 to 1861, as it was a stop on both the Gila River Trail and the Butterfield Overland Mail stageco ...
. Commodore
Robert F. Stockton
Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-p ...
sent a mounted force of fifty under Captain
Archibald Gillespie
Major Archibald H. Gillespie (October 10, 1812 – August 16, 1873) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps during the Mexican–American War.
Biography
Born in New York City, Gillespie was commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1832. He co ...
to march north to meet him. Their joint command of 150 men, returning to San Diego, encountered about 93 Californios under
Andrés Pico
Andrés Pico (November 18, 1810 – February 14, 1876) was a Californio who became a successful rancher, fought in the contested Battle of San Pascual during the Mexican–American War, and negotiated promises of post-war protections for Calif ...
.
![SanPasqual](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/SanPasqual.jpg)
In the ensuing
Battle of San Pasqual
The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican–American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community of the city of San Diego, California. The series of military skirmishes ...
, fought in the
San Pasqual Valley
San Pasqual Valley, historically spelt as San Pascual (Spanish for " Saint Paschal"), is the northernmost community of the city of San Diego. It is named for the Kumeyaay village of San Pasqual that was once located there. It is bordered on the ...
which is now part of the city of San Diego, the Americans suffered their worst losses in the campaign. Subsequently, a column led by Lieutenant Gray arrived from San Diego, rescuing Kearny's battered and blockaded command. Stockton and Kearny went on to recover Los Angeles and force the capitulation of Alta California with the "
Treaty of Cahuenga
The Treaty of Cahuenga ( es, Tratado de Cahuenga), also called the Capitulation of Cahuenga (''Capitulación de Cahuenga''), was an 1847 agreement that ended the Conquest of California, resulting in a ceasefire between Californios and Americans. T ...
" on January 13, 1847. As a result of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
of 1846–48, the territory of Alta California, including San Diego, was ceded to the United States by Mexico, under the terms of the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...
in 1848. The Mexican negotiators of that treaty tried to retain San Diego as part of Mexico, but the Americans insisted that San Diego was "for every commercial purpose of nearly equal importance to us with that of San Francisco," and the Mexican–American border was eventually established to be one league south of the southernmost point of
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...
, so as to include the entire bay within the United States.
American period
![View of San Diego, c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/View_of_San_Diego%2C_c._1840-50%27s.jpg)
The state of California was admitted to the United States in 1850. That same year San Diego was designated the seat of the newly established County of San Diego and was incorporated as a city.
Joshua H. Bean, the last alcalde of San Diego, was elected the first mayor. Two years later the city was bankrupt; the California legislature revoked the city's charter and placed it under control of a board of trustees, where it remained until 1889. A city charter was reestablished in 1889, and today's city charter was adopted in 1931.
The original town of San Diego was located at the foot of Presidio Hill, in the area which is now
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the City of San Diego and includes many historic buildings ...
. The location was not ideal, being several miles away from navigable water at its port at
La Playa. In 1850,
William Heath Davis
William Heath "Kanaka" Davis, Jr. (1822 – 1909) was a merchant and trader in Alta California who helped to establish "New Town" (now Downtown San Diego) in San Diego, California.
Life
Davis was born in 1822 in Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaii ...
promoted a new development by the bay shore called "New San Diego", several miles south of the original settlement; however, for several decades the new development consisted only of a pier, a few houses and an Army depot for the support of
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of ...
. After 1854, the fort became supplied by sea and by
steamboats on the Colorado River and the depot fell into disuse. From 1857 to 1860, San Diego became the western terminus of the
San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line, the earliest overland
stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
and mail operation from the
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...
to California, coming from
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
through
New Mexico Territory
The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...
in less than 30 days.
[Basil C. Pearce]
"The Jackass Mail—San Antonio and San Diego Mail Line"
''San Diego Historical Society Quarterly'', Spring 1969, Volume 15, Number 2
In the late 1860s,
Alonzo Horton
Alonzo Eratus Horton (October 24, 1813 – January 7, 1909) was an American real estate developer in the nineteenth century. The Horton Plaza mall in downtown San Diego is named for him.
Early life
Horton was born 1813 in Union, Connecticut, ...
promoted a move to the bayside area, which he called "New Town" and which became
Downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and ...
. Horton promoted the area heavily, and people and businesses began to relocate to New Town because its location on
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...
was convenient to shipping. New Town soon eclipsed the original settlement, known to this day as
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
, and became the economic and governmental heart of the city.
Still, San Diego remained a relative backwater town until the arrival of a railroad connection in 1878. In 1884–1886,
John J. Montgomery
John Joseph Montgomery (February 15, 1858 – October 31, 1911) was an American inventor, physicist, engineer, and professor at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, who is best known for his invention of controlled heavier-than-air ...
made the first controlled flights by an American in a heavier-than-air unpowered glider just south of San Diego at Otay Mesa, helping to pioneer a new science of aerodynamics.
In 1912, San Diego was the site of a
free speech fight
Free speech fights are struggles over free speech, and especially those struggles which involved the Industrial Workers of the World and their attempts to gain awareness for labor issues by organizing workers and urging them to use their collective ...
between the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...
and the city government who passed an ordinance forbidding the
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
along an area of "Soapbox Row" that led to civil disobedience,
vigilantism
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority.
A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...
,
police violence
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...
, the abduction of
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...
's husband
Ben Reitman __NOTOC__
Ben Lewis Reitman M.D. (1879–1943) was an American anarchist and physician to the poor ("the hobo doctor"). He is best remembered today as one of radical Emma Goldman's lovers.
Reitman was a flamboyant, eccentric character. Emma Goldm ...
and
multiple riots. San Diego's proximity to Tijuana during the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
made this one of the most significant
free speech fights
Free speech fights are struggles over free speech, and especially those struggles which involved the Industrial Workers of the World and their attempts to gain awareness for labor issues by organizing workers and urging them to use their collective ...
during the
Wobbly
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...
era.
In 1916, the neighborhood of
Stingaree
The Stingaree was a neighborhood of San Diego between the boom of the 1880s and the demolition and vice eradication campaign of 1916. The reason for the neighborhood's fame was its role as the home to the city's "undesirables", including prostitut ...
, the original home of San Diego's first
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
and "Soapbox Row", was demolished by anti-
vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...
campaigners to make way for the
Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter is a 16½-block neighborhood in the downtown area of San Diego, California. It extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, and from 4th to 6th Avenue.
Listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places as ...
.
![Guide Book of the Panama California Exposition (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Guide_Book_of_the_Panama_California_Exposition_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In the early part of the 20th century, San Diego hosted the
World's Fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
twice: the
Panama-California Exposition (1915) and the
California Pacific International Exposition
The California Pacific International Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California during May 29, 1935–November 11, 1935 and February 12, 1936–September 9, 1936. The exposition was held in Balboa Park, San Diego's large c ...
in 1935. Both expositions were held in
Balboa Park, and many of the Spanish/Baroque-style buildings that were built for those expositions remain to this day as central features of the park. The buildings were intended to be temporary structures, but most remained in continuous use until they progressively fell into disrepair. Most were eventually rebuilt, using castings of the original façades to retain the architectural style. The menagerie of exotic animals featured at the 1915 exposition provided the basis for the
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...
. During the 1950s there was a citywide festival called
Fiesta del Pacifico The Fiesta del Pacifico (English: ''Festival of the Pacific'') was a civic festival held in San Diego, California during the 1950s. The event was staged throughout the city for several weeks in the mid to late summer. It was intended to attract tour ...
highlighting the area's Spanish and Mexican past. In the 2010s there was a proposal for a large-scale celebration of the 100th anniversary of Balboa Park, but the plans were abandoned when the organization tasked with putting on the celebration went out of business.
The southern portion of the
Point Loma
Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
peninsula was set aside for military purposes as early as 1852. Over the next several decades the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
set up a series of coastal artillery batteries and named the area
Fort Rosecrans
Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest ...
. Significant U.S. Navy presence began in 1901 with the establishment of the Navy Coaling Station in Point Loma, and expanded greatly during the 1920s. By 1930, the city was host to
Naval Base San Diego
Naval Base San Diego, also known as 32nd Street Naval Station, is the second largest surface ship base of the United States Navy and is located in San Diego, California. Naval Base San Diego is the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, cons ...
,
Naval Training Center San Diego
Naval Training Center San Diego (NTC San Diego) (1923–1997) is a former United States Navy base located at the north end of San Diego Bay, commonly known as "boot camp". The Naval Training Center site is listed on the National Register of His ...
,
San Diego Naval Hospital
Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", or "The Pink Palace" (because the stucco of the first buildings that were constructed was pinkish in color), is a tech ...
,
Camp Matthews
Camp Calvin B. Matthews or Marine Corps Rifle Range Camp Matthews or Marine Corps Rifle Range, La Jolla (prior to World War II) or more simply Camp Matthews was a United States Marine Corps military base from 1917 until 1964, when the base was d ...
, and
Camp Kearny
Camp Kearny was a U.S. military base (first Army, later Navy) in San Diego County, California, on the site of the current Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. It operated from 1917 to 1946. The base was named in honor of Brigadier General Stephen W ...
(now
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...
). The city was also an early center for aviation: as early as World War I, San Diego was proclaiming itself "The Air Capital of the West".
The city was home to important airplane developers and manufacturers like Ryan Airlines (later
Ryan Aeronautical
The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and tech ...
), founded in 1925, and
Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 in aviation, 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet in Buffalo, New York, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the ...
(later
Convair
Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, it ...
), founded in 1923.
Charles A. Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
's plane
The Spirit of St. Louis
The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlanti ...
was built in San Diego in 1927 by Ryan Airlines.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, San Diego became a major hub of military and defense activity, due to the presence of so many military installations and defense manufacturers. The city's population grew rapidly during and after World War II, more than doubling between 1930 (147,995) and 1950 (333,865).
[Moffatt, Riley. ''Population History of Western U.S. Cities & Towns, 1850–1990''. Lanham: Scarecrow, 1996, 54.] During the final months of the war, the Japanese had a plan to target multiple U.S. cities for
biological attack
Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bio ...
, starting with San Diego. The plan was called "
Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night
Operation PX, also known as Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night, was a planned Japanese military attack on civilians in the United States using Biological warfare, biological weapons, devised during World War II. The proposal was for Imperial Jap ...
" and called for
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
planes filled with fleas infected with plague (''
Yersinia pestis
''Yersinia pestis'' (''Y. pestis''; formerly '' Pasteurella pestis'') is a gram-negative, non-motile, coccobacillus bacterium without spores that is related to both ''Yersinia pseudotuberculosis'' and ''Yersinia enterocolitica''. It is a facult ...
'') to crash into civilian population centers in the city, hoping to spread plague in the city and effectively kill tens of thousands of civilians. The plan was scheduled to launch on September 22, 1945, but was not carried out because
Japan surrendered five weeks earlier.
After World War II, the military continued to play a major role in the local economy, but post-
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
cutbacks took a heavy toll on the local defense and aerospace industries. The resulting downturn led San Diego leaders to seek to diversify the city's economy by focusing on research and science, as well as tourism.
![Sdmarina](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Sdmarina.JPG)
From the start of the 20th century through the 1970s, the American
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...
fishing fleet and tuna canning industry were based in San Diego, "the tuna capital of the world".
San Diego's first tuna cannery was founded in 1911, and by the mid-1930s the canneries employed more than 1,000 people. A large fishing fleet supported the canneries, mostly staffed by immigrant fishermen from
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, and later from the
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
whose influence is still felt in neighborhoods like
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...
and
Point Loma
Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
. Due to rising costs and foreign competition, the last of the canneries closed in the early 1980s.
Downtown San Diego was in decline in the 1960s and 1970s, but experienced some urban renewal since the early 1980s, including the opening of
Horton Plaza, the revival of the
Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter is a 16½-block neighborhood in the downtown area of San Diego, California. It extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, and from 4th to 6th Avenue.
Listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places as ...
, and the construction of the
San Diego Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center is the primary convention center in San Diego, California. It is located in the Marina district of downtown San Diego near the Gaslamp Quarter, at 111 West Harbor Drive. The center is managed by the San Diego Con ...
;
Petco Park
Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby.
The ballpark is located between Se ...
opened in 2004.
Outside of downtown, San Diego annexed large swaths of land and for suburban expansion to the north and control of the
San Ysidro Port of Entry
__NOTOC__
The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest if one exclu ...
.
As the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
ended, the military shrank and so did defense spending. San Diego has since become a center of the emerging biotech industry and is home to telecommunications giant
Qualcomm
Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
. San Diego had also grown in the tourism industry with the popularity of attractions such as the
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...
,
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
SeaWorld San Diego ...
, and
Legoland California
Legoland California Resort is a theme park, miniature park, and aquarium located in Carlsbad, California, based on the Lego toy brand. Opening on March 20, 1999, it was the third Legoland park to open and the first outside of Europe. The park i ...
in
Carlsbad
Carlsbad may refer to:
*Carlsbad, California, United States
*Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States
*Carlsbad, Texas, United States
*Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa ...
.
Geography
![San Diego with Tijuana by Sentinel-2, 2020-03-09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/San_Diego_with_Tijuana_by_Sentinel-2%2C_2020-03-09.jpg)
According to SDSU professor emeritus Monte Marshall,
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...
is "the surface expression of a north-south-trending, nested
graben
In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults.
Etymology
''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic contex ...
". The
Rose Canyon
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
and
Point Loma
Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
fault zones are part of the
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is Fault (geology)#Strike-slip fau ...
system. About east of the bay are the
Laguna Mountains
The Laguna Mountains are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System in eastern San Diego County, southern California. The mountains run in a northwest/southeast alignment for approximately .
The mountains have long been inhabited by the i ...
in the
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...
, which are part of the
backbone of the American continents.
The city lies on approximately 200 deep canyons and hills separating its
mesa
A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by ...
s, creating small pockets of natural open space scattered throughout the city and giving it a hilly geography. Traditionally, San Diegans have built their homes and businesses on the mesas, while leaving the urban canyons relatively wild. Thus, the canyons give parts of the city a segmented feel, creating gaps between otherwise proximate neighborhoods and contributing to a low-density, car-centered environment. The
San Diego River
The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. It originates in the Cuyamaca Mountains northwest of the town of Julian, then flows to the southwest until it reaches the El Capitan Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the river's ...
runs through the middle of San Diego from east to west, creating a river valley that serves to divide the city into northern and southern segments. During the historic period and presumably earlier as well, the river has shifted its flow back and forth between San Diego Bay and Mission Bay, and its
fresh water
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
was the focus of the earliest Spanish explorers.
Miguel Costansó Miguel Costansó (1741–1814), original name Miquel Constançó, was a Catalan engineer, cartographer and cosmographer. He joined the expedition of exploration of Alta California led by Gaspar de Portolá and Junípero Serra, serving aboard ship a ...
, a cartographer, wrote in 1769, "When asked by signs where the watering-place was, the Indians pointed to a grove which could be seen at a considerable distance to the northeast, giving to understand that a river or creek flowed through it, and that they would lead our men to it if they would follow."
["Expeditions by Sea" ''The Explorers''. Trans. Richard F. Pourade. La Jolla: Copley, 1960. 64–72.] That river was the San Diego River.
Several reservoirs and
Mission Trails Regional Park
Mission Trails Regional Park is a open space preserve within the city of San Diego, California, established in 1974. It is the sixth-largest municipally owned park in the United States, and the largest in California.
Description
The park cons ...
also lie between and separate developed areas of the city.
![Torrey Pines cliffs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Torrey_Pines_cliffs.jpg)
Notable peaks within the city limits include
Cowles Mountain
Cowles Mountain (/koʊlz/, aʊlz properly ''KOHLZ'', commonly ''KOWLZ'') is a prominent mountain located in the San Carlos neighborhood, within the city limits of San Diego. The summit is the highest point of the city of San Diego.
It is prote ...
, the highest point in the city at ;
Black Mountain at ; and
Mount Soledad
Mount Soledad, also known as Soledad Mountain, is a prominent landmark in the city of San Diego, California, United States. The mountaintop is the site of the Mount Soledad Cross, the subject of a 25-year controversy over the involvement of reli ...
at . The
Cuyamaca Mountains
The Cuyamaca Mountains ( Kumeyaay: ''‘Ekwiiyemak''), locally the Cuyamacas, are a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, in San Diego County, southern California. The mountain range runs roughly northwest to southeast. The Laguna Mount ...
and Laguna Mountains rise to the east of the city, and beyond the mountains are desert areas. The
Cleveland National Forest
Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres (), mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by th ...
is a half-hour drive from downtown San Diego. Numerous farms are found in the valleys northeast and southeast of the city.
In its 2013 ParkScore ranking,
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a U.S. nonprofit organization with a mission to "create parks and protect land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come". Since its founding in 1972, the Trust for Public Land has compl ...
reported that San Diego had the 9th-best park system among the 50 most populous U.S. cities. ParkScore ranks city park systems by a formula that analyzes acreage, access, and service and investment.
Climate
San Diego has one of the top-ten best climates in the United States, according to the ''
Farmers' Almanac
''Farmers' Almanac'' is an annual American periodical that has been in continuous publication since 1818. Published by Geiger of Lewiston, Maine, the ''Farmers' Almanac'' provides long-range weather predictions for both the U.S. and Canada. The ...
'' and has one of the two best summer climates in the country as scored by
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecas ...
. Under the
Köppen–Geiger climate classification system, the San Diego area has been variously categorized as having either a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''
BSh
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a des ...
'' in the original classification and ''BSkn'' in modified Köppen classification with the n denoting summer fog) or a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(''Csa''). San Diego's climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and mild winters, with most of the annual precipitation falling between December and March. The city has a mild climate year-round, with an average of 201 days above and low rainfall ( annually).
The climate in San Diego, like most of Southern California, often varies significantly over short geographical distances, resulting in
microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...
s. In San Diego, this is mostly because of the city's topography (the Bay, and the numerous hills, mountains, and canyons). Frequently, particularly during the "May gray/
June gloom" period, a thick "
marine layer
A marine layer is an air mass that develops over the surface of a large body of water, such as an ocean or large lake, in the presence of a temperature inversion. The inversion itself is usually initiated by the cooling effect of the water on th ...
" cloud cover keeps the air cool and damp within a few miles of the coast, but yields to bright cloudless sunshine approximately inland. Sometimes the June gloom lasts into July, causing cloudy skies over most of San Diego for the entire day.
Even in the absence of June gloom, inland areas experience much more significant temperature variations than coastal areas, where the ocean serves as a moderating influence. Thus, for example, downtown San Diego averages January lows of and August highs of . The city of
El Cajon
El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...
, just inland from downtown San Diego, averages January lows of and August highs of .
The average surface temperature of the water at Scripps Pier in the
California Current
The California Current is a cold water Pacific Ocean current that moves southward along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia and ending off southern Baja California Sur. It is considered an Eastern boundary ...
has increased by almost since 1950, according to scientists at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for oceanography, ocean and Earth science research ...
. Additionally, the mean minimum is now above , putting San Diego in
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
11, with the last freeze having occurred many decades ago.
![SurfPacificBeach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/SurfPacificBeach.jpg)
Annual rainfall along the coast averages and the median is . The months of December through March supply most of the rain, with February the only month averaging or more. The months of May through September tend to be almost completely dry. Although there are few wet days per month during the rainy period, rainfall can be heavy when it does fall. Rainfall is usually greater in the higher elevations of San Diego; some of the higher areas can receive per year. Variability from year to year can be dramatic: in the wettest years of 1883/1884 and 1940/1941, more than fell, whilst in the driest years there was as little as . The wettest month on record is December 1921 with .
Snow in the city is so rare that it has been observed only six times in the century-and-a-half that records have been kept. In 1949 and 1967, snow stayed on the ground for a few hours in higher locations like
Point Loma
Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
and
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
. The other three occasions, in 1882, 1946, and 1987, involved flurries but no accumulation. On February 21, 2019, snow fell and accumulated in residential areas of the city, but none fell in the downtown area.
Ecology
![Cabrillo Monument 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Cabrillo_Monument_04.JPG)
Like much of
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, the majority of San Diego's current area was originally occupied on the west by
coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is w ...
and on the east by
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
, plant communities made up mostly of drought-resistant shrubs. The steep and varied topography and proximity to the ocean create a number of different habitats within the city limits, including
tidal marsh
A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...
and
canyons
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...
. The chaparral and coastal sage scrub habitats in low elevations along the coast are prone to
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
, and the rates of fire increased in the 20th century, due primarily to fires starting near the borders of urban and wild areas.
San Diego's broad city limits encompass a number of large nature preserves, including
Torrey Pines State Reserve
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is of coastal state park located in the community of La Jolla, in San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road. Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches ...
,
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is an urban park in San Diego, California. Stretching approximately , the park encompasses some of both Peñasquitos and Lopez canyons, and is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The preserve is j ...
, and
Mission Trails Regional Park
Mission Trails Regional Park is a open space preserve within the city of San Diego, California, established in 1974. It is the sixth-largest municipally owned park in the United States, and the largest in California.
Description
The park cons ...
. Torrey Pines State Reserve and a coastal strip continuing to the north constitute one of only two locations where the rare species of Torrey Pine, ''
Pinus torreyana
The Torrey pine (''Pinus torreyana'') is a rare pine species in California, United States. It is a critically endangered species growing only in coastal San Diego County, and on Santa Rosa Island, offshore from Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara ...
'', is found.
Due to the steep topography that prevents or discourages building, along with some efforts for preservation, there are also a large number of canyons within the city limits that serve as nature preserves, including
Switzer Canyon
Switzer Canyon is a canyon in San Diego, California. It is situated to the east of Balboa Park and serves as the boundary between the neighborhoods of North Park and South Park in Central San Diego. Switzer Canyon remains an oasis of natur ...
, Tecolote Canyon Natural Park,
and Marian Bear Memorial Park in
San Clemente Canyon
San Clemente Canyon is a canyon located in the city of San Diego, in San Diego County, California.Marian Bear Memorial Park, a linear open space park, is along the canyon and in the southern tributary arroyos and mesa.
Park
The canyon and Maria ...
,
as well as a number of small parks and preserves.
![Cowles Mtn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Cowles_Mtn._from_Lake_Murray_-_panoramio.jpg)
San Diego County has one of the highest counts of animal and plant species that appear on the
endangered list of counties in the United States.
Because of its diversity of habitat and its position on the
Pacific Flyway
The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...
, San Diego County has recorded 492 different bird species, more than any other region in the country. San Diego always scores high in the number of bird species observed in the annual
Christmas Bird Count
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, performed annually in the early Northern-hemisphere winter by volunteer birdwatchers and administered by the National Audubon Society. The purpose is to provide popu ...
, sponsored by the
Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...
, and it is known as one of the "birdiest" areas in the United States.
San Diego and its backcountry suffer from periodic wildfires. In October 2003, San Diego was the site of the
Cedar Fire
The Cedar Fire was a massive, highly-destructive wildfire, which burned of land in San Diego County, California, during October and November 2003. The fire's rapid growth was driven by the Santa Ana wind, causing the fire to spread at a rate o ...
, at that time the largest wildfire in California over the past century.
The fire burned , killed 15 people, and destroyed more than 2,200 homes. In addition to damage caused by the fire, smoke resulted in a significant increase in emergency room visits due to asthma, respiratory problems, eye irritation, and smoke inhalation; the poor air quality caused San Diego County schools to close for a week.
Wildfires four years later destroyed some areas, particularly within
Rancho Bernardo
Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California.
Geography
The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...
, as well as the nearby communities of
Rancho Santa Fe
Rancho Santa Fe is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Diego County, California, United States, within the San Diego metropolitan area. The population was 3,156 at the 2020 census. The CDP is primarily residential with a few shopping block ...
and
Ramona
''Ramona'' is a 1884 American novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson. Set in Southern California after the Mexican–American War, it portrays the life of a mixed-race Scottish– Native American orphan girl, who suffers racial discrimination and ...
.
Neighborhoods
The City of San Diego recognizes 52 individual areas as Community Planning Areas. Within a given planning area there may be several distinct neighborhoods. Altogether the city contains more than 100 identified
neighborhoods
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...
.
Downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and ...
is located on San Diego Bay.
Balboa Park encompasses several mesas and canyons to the northeast, surrounded by older, dense urban communities including
Hillcrest and
North Park. To the east and southeast lie
City Heights, the
College Area
The College Area is a residential community in the Mid-City region of San Diego, California, United States. The College Area is dominated by San Diego State University (SDSU; once known as San Diego State College), after which the area is named. Se ...
, and
Southeast San Diego
Southeast San Diego refers to the southeastern portion of the City of San Diego (excluding South San Diego) and the neighborhoods south of State Route 94 ( Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway) and east of Downtown San Diego. There are three official ...
. To the north lies
Mission Valley
Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the city of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Missi ...
and
Interstate 8
Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, ...
. The communities north of the valley and freeway, and south of
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...
, include
Clairemont,
Kearny Mesa
Kearny Mesa is a community in the central part of San Diego, California. It is bounded by State Route 52 to the north, Interstate 805 to the west, Aero Drive to the south, and Interstate 15 to the east. Adjacent communities include Serra Mesa, C ...
,
Tierrasanta
Tierrasanta, Spanish for "holy land," or "holy ground", is a community within the city of San Diego, California. The symbol of Tierrasanta is an encircled Conquistador cross, similar to one atop Montserrat (mountain) near Barcelona, Spain, though ...
, and
Navajo
The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States.
With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...
. Stretching north from Miramar are the northern suburbs of
Mira Mesa
Mira Mesa (Spanish for "Table View") is a community and neighborhood in the city of San Diego, California. The city-recognized Mira Mesa Community Plan Area is roughly bounded by Interstate 15 on the east, Interstate 805 on the west, the Los Peñ ...
,
Scripps Ranch
Scripps Ranch is a community of San Diego, California in the northeastern part of that city. Its ZIP code is 92131. It is located east of Interstate 15, north of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and south of Poway.
Scripps Ranch is a coastal/i ...
,
Rancho Peñasquitos
Rancho or Ranchos may refer to:
Settlements and communities
*Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad
*Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California
**List of California Ranchos
*Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...
, and
Rancho Bernardo
Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California.
Geography
The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...
. The far northeast portion of the city encompasses
Lake Hodges
Lake Hodges is a lake and reservoir located within the city limits of San Diego, California. It is about north of Downtown San Diego, just north of the Rancho Bernardo community, and just south of the city's border with Escondido. When full, th ...
and the
San Pasqual Valley
San Pasqual Valley, historically spelt as San Pascual (Spanish for " Saint Paschal"), is the northernmost community of the city of San Diego. It is named for the Kumeyaay village of San Pasqual that was once located there. It is bordered on the ...
, which holds an agricultural preserve.
Carmel Valley and
Del Mar Heights occupy the northwest corner of the city. To their south are
Torrey Pines State Reserve
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is of coastal state park located in the community of La Jolla, in San Diego, California, off North Torrey Pines Road. Although it is located within San Diego city limits, it remains one of the wildest stretches ...
and the business center of the
Golden Triangle
Golden Triangle may refer to:
Places
Asia
* Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production
* Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development
* Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist ...
. Further south are the beach and coastal communities of
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
,
Pacific Beach,
Mission Beach, and
Ocean Beach.
Point Loma
Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
occupies the peninsula across
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...
from downtown. The communities of
South San Diego
South San Diego is a district within the City of San Diego, and is in the larger South Bay region of southwestern San Diego County, California. South San Diego is a practical exclave of San Diego, having no land connection with the rest of the c ...
(an
Exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
), such as
San Ysidro
San Ysidro (Spanish for " St. Isidore", ) is a district of the City of San Diego, immediately north of the Mexico–United States border. It neighbors Otay Mesa West to the north, Otay Mesa to the east, and Nestor and the Tijuana River Valley t ...
and
Otay Mesa
Otay Mesa ( ) is a community in the southern section of the city of San Diego, just north of the U.S.–Mexico border.
It is bordered by the Otay River Valley and the city of Chula Vista on the north; Interstate 805 and the neighborhoods of Oc ...
, are located next to the
Mexico–United States border
The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...
, and are physically separated from the rest of the city by the cities of
National City and
Chula Vista
Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popul ...
. A narrow strip of land at the bottom of San Diego Bay connects these southern neighborhoods with the rest of the city.
neighborhoods in San Diego
The following is a list of neighborhoods and communities located in the city of San Diego. The City of San Diego Planning Department officially lists 52 Community Planning Areas within the city, many of which consist of multiple different neighbor ...
">
File:La Jolla Shores photo D Ramey Logan (cropped).jpg,
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
File:North Park, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (11) (cropped).jpg,
North Park
File:La Playa, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (10) (cropped).jpg,
Point Loma
Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
File:East Village, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (24).jpg,
East Village
File:Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego-1.jpg,
Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter is a 16½-block neighborhood in the downtown area of San Diego, California. It extends from Broadway to Harbor Drive, and from 4th to 6th Avenue.
Listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places as ...
File:Guild Theater, San Diego.jpg,
Hillcrest
File:University of San Diego (cropped).jpg,
Linda Vista
File:San Diego - California - Yacht Harbor with Hotels (cropped).jpg,
Columbia
File:San Ysidro, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (9).jpg,
San Ysidro
San Ysidro (Spanish for " St. Isidore", ) is a district of the City of San Diego, immediately north of the Mexico–United States border. It neighbors Otay Mesa West to the north, Otay Mesa to the east, and Nestor and the Tijuana River Valley t ...
File:Normal Height's sign, Adams Avenue.jpg,
Normal Heights
File:Rancho Bernardo View (cropped).jpg,
Rancho Bernardo
Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California.
Geography
The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...
File:Marina, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (35) (cropped).jpg,
Marina District
For the most part, San Diego neighborhood boundaries tend to be understood by its residents based on geographical boundaries like canyons and street patterns. The city recognized the importance of its neighborhoods when it organized its 2008 General Plan around the concept of a "City of Villages".
Cityscape
San Diego was originally centered on the
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
district, but by the late 1860s the focus had shifted to the bayfront, in the belief that this new location would increase trade. As the "New Town" – present-day Downtown – waterfront location quickly developed, it eclipsed Old Town as the center of San Diego.
The development of skyscrapers over in San Diego is attributed to the construction of the
El Cortez Hotel in 1927, the tallest building in the city from 1927 to 1963. As time went on, multiple buildings claimed the title of San Diego's tallest skyscraper, including the
Union Bank of California Building
The Union Bank of California Building is a 27- storey, skyscraper in San Diego, California, completed in 1969. For 20 years, the tower stood as the tallest building in the city, until the completion of the Symphony Towers in 1989.
See also
*L ...
and
Symphony Towers
Symphony Towers is a 1.2-million-square-foot late modernist two-tower hotel and office complex located in the historic Financial District in downtown San Diego, California, on B Street. The mixed-use, high-rise building includes a 34-story office ...
. Currently the tallest building in San Diego is
One America Plaza
One America Plaza is the tallest building in San Diego, California and a prominent fixture in the waterfront district of the downtown San Diego skyline. The 34-story, , , obelisk-shaped tower was designed by Helmut Jahn of Murphy/Jahn Architects ...
, standing tall, which was completed in 1991.
The downtown skyline contains no
super-tall
A supertall building is an occupied "supertall" structure higher than and beneath . A form of skyscraper, it falls midway between a common minimum definition of "skyscraper" (a building taller ) and a " megatall" building (taller than ).
Diff ...
s, as a regulation put in place by the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
in the 1970s set a limit on the height of buildings within a radius of the
San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport , formerly known as Lindbergh Field, is an international airport northwest of Downtown San Diego, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.. US Federa ...
.
An iconic description of the skyline includes its skyscrapers being compared to the tools of a toolbox.
There are
several new high-rises under construction, including two that exceed 400 feet (122 m) in height.
Demographics
The city had a population of 1,307,402 according to the 2010 census, distributed over a land area of . The urban area of San Diego extends beyond the administrative city limits and had a total population of 2,956,746, making it the
third-largest urban area in the state, after that of the
Los Angeles metropolitan area
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
and
San Francisco metropolitan area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gover ...
. They, along with the
Riverside–San Bernardino, form those metropolitan areas in California larger than the
San Diego metropolitan area
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinbu ...
, which had a total population of 3,095,313 at the 2010 census.
The 2010 population represents an increase of just under 7% from the 1,223,400 people, 450,691 households, and 271,315 families reported in 2000.
The estimated city population in 2009 was 1,306,300. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Diego was 58.9%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 6.7% African American, 0.6% Native American, 15.9%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
(5.9%
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
, 2.7%
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
, 2.5%
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
, 1.3%
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
, 1.0%
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, 0.7%
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, 0.4%
Laotian, 0.3%
Cambodian
Cambodian usually refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia
** Cambodian people (or Khmer people)
** Cambodian language (or Khmer language)
** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia
** Fo ...
, 0.1%
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
). 0.5%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
(0.2%
Guamanian
The Chamorro people (; also CHamoru) are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the encompassing Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. Today, signifi ...
, 0.1%
Samoan, 0.1%
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
), 12.3% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 5.1% from two or more races. The ethnic makeup of the city was 28.8%
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
(of any race);
24.9% of the total population were
Mexican American
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
, 1.4% were
Spanish American
Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...
and 0.6% were
Puerto Rican. Median age of Hispanics was 27.5 years, compared to 35.1 years overall and 41.6 years among non-Hispanic whites; Hispanics were the largest group in all ages under 18, and non-Hispanic whites constituted 63.1% of population 55 and older.
![Race and ethnicity 2010- San Diego (5560483270)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Race_and_ethnicity_2010-_San_Diego_%285560483270%29.png)
, the San Diego City and County had the fifth-largest
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
population among major cities in the United States, with 8,102 people experiencing homelessness. In the city of San Diego, 4,887 individuals were experiencing homelessness according to the 2020 count.
In 2000 there were 451,126 households, out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. Households made up of individuals account for 28.0%, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61, and the average family size was 3.30.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2000, 24.0% of San Diego residents were under 18, and 10.5% were 65 and over.
the median age was 35.6; more than a quarter of residents were under age 20 and 11% were over age 65.
Millennials
Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
(ages 26 through 42) constitute 27.1% of San Diego's population, the second-highest percentage in a major U.S. city. The San Diego County regional planning agency, SANDAG, provides tables and graphs breaking down the city population into five-year age groups.
In 2000, the
median income for a household in the city was $45,733, and the median income for a family was $53,060. Males had a median income of $36,984 versus $31,076 for females. The per capita income for the city was $35,199.
According to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' in 2005, San Diego was the fifth wealthiest U.S. city,
but about 10.6% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.
San Diego was rated the fifth-best place to live in the United States in 2006 by ''
Money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
'' magazine,
and it was rated #6 in Best Big Cities in 2018.
As of January 1, 2008 estimates by the
San Diego Association of Governments
The San Diego Association of Governments (abbreviated SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the County, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and County ...
revealed that the household median income for San Diego rose to $66,715, up from $45,733 in 2000.
San Diego was named the ninth-most
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
-friendly city in the U.S. in 2013. The city also has the
seventh-highest population of gay residents in the U.S. Additionally in 2013,
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
(SDSU), one of the city's prominent universities, was named one of the top LGBT-friendly campuses in the nation.
According to a 2014 study by the
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C.
It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
, 68% of the population of the city identified themselves as
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, with 32% professing attendance at a variety of churches that could be considered
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, and 32% professing
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
beliefs. while 27% claim
no religious affiliation. The same study says that other religions (including
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
,
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, and
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
) collectively make up about 5% of the population.
Economy
![OneAmericaPlazaSDSept10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/OneAmericaPlazaSDSept10.jpg)
The largest sectors of San Diego's economy are
defense/military,
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
,
international trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy)
In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...
, and
research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
/
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
.
In 2014, San Diego was designated by a ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' columnist as the best city in the country to launch a small business or
startup company
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
.
San Diego recorded a
median household income
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
of $79,646 in 2018, an increase of 3.89% from $76,662 in 2017.
[San Diego](_blank)
''DataUSA'' The median property value in San Diego in 2018 was $654,700,
and the average home has two cars per household.
Top employers
According to the city's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,
[City of San Diego, California Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Year ended June 30, 2021](_blank)
page 302 the top employers in the city are:
Defense and military
The economy of San Diego is influenced by
its deepwater port, which includes the only major submarine and shipbuilding yards on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
. Several major national
defense contractor
The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and serv ...
s were started and are headquartered in San Diego, including
General Atomics
General Atomics is an American energy and defense corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, specializing in research and technology development. This includes physics research in support of nuclear fission and nuclear fusion energy. The ...
,
Cubic
Cubic may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Cube (algebra), "cubic" measurement
* Cube, a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex
** Cubic crystal system, a crystal system w ...
, and
NASSCO.
San Diego hosts the largest naval fleet in the world: In 2008 it was home to 53 ships, over 120 tenant commands, and more than 35,000 sailors, marines,
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
civilian employees and contractors.
About 5 percent of all civilian jobs in the county are military-related, and 15,000 businesses in San Diego County rely on Department of Defense contracts.
![Defense](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Defense.gov_photo_essay_100813-D-7203C-008_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Military bases in San Diego include
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
facilities,
Marine Corps
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
bases, and
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
stations.
The city is "home to the majority of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's surface combatants, all of the Navy's West Coast amphibious ships and a variety of Coast Guard and Military Sealift Command vessels".
The military infrastructure in San Diego is still growing and developing, with numerous military personnel stationed there, numbers of which are expected to rise. This plays a significant role in the city's economy, , it provides roughly 25% of the GDP and provides 23% of the total jobs in San Diego.
Tourism
![Balboa Park, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (224)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Balboa_Park%2C_San_Diego%2C_CA%2C_USA_-_panoramio_%28224%29.jpg)
Tourism is a major industry owing to the city's climate,
beaches
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shells ...
, and tourist attractions such as
Balboa Park,
Belmont
Belmont may refer to:
People
* Belmont (surname)
Places
* Belmont Abbey (disambiguation)
* Belmont Historic District (disambiguation)
* Belmont Hotel (disambiguation)
* Belmont Park (disambiguation)
* Belmont Plantation (disambiguation)
* Belmon ...
amusement park,
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...
,
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, originally named the San Diego Wild Animal Park until 2010, is an 1,800 acre (730 ha) zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California, near Escondido. It is one of the largest tourist attractions in Sa ...
, and
SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.
SeaWorld San Diego ...
. San Diego's Spanish and Mexican heritage is reflected in many historic sites across the city, such as
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá ( es, Misión San Diego de Alcalá) was the second Franciscan founded mission in The Californias (after San Fernando de Velicata), a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it w ...
and
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, located in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California, is a state protected historical park in San Diego. It commemorates the early days of the City of San Diego and includes many historic buildings ...
. Also, the
local craft brewing industry attracts an increasing number of visitors for "beer tours" and the annual San Diego Beer Week in November; San Diego has been called "America's Craft Beer Capital."
San Diego County hosted more than 32 million visitors in 2012; collectively they spent an estimated $8 billion. The visitor industry provides employment for more than 160,000 people.
San Diego's cruise ship industry used to be the second-largest in California. Numerous cruise lines operate out of San Diego. However, cruise ship business has been in decline since 2008, when the Port hosted over 250 ship calls and more than 900,000 passengers. By 2016–2017, the number of ship calls had fallen to 90.
Local sightseeing cruises are offered in San Diego Bay and Mission Bay, as well as whale-watching cruises to observe the migration of
gray whale
The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and bree ...
s, peaking in mid-January.
Sport fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing ...
is another popular tourist attraction; San Diego is home to southern California's biggest sport fishing fleet.
International trade
![Cruise Ships Visit Port of San Diego 005 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Cruise_Ships_Visit_Port_of_San_Diego_005_%28cropped%29.jpg)
San Diego's commercial port and its location on the
United States–Mexico border
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
make international trade an important factor in the city's economy. The city is authorized by the United States government to operate as a
Foreign Trade Zone
A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cust ...
.
The city shares a border with Mexico that includes two border crossings. San Diego hosts the busiest international border crossing in the world, in the San Ysidro neighborhood at the
San Ysidro Port of Entry
__NOTOC__
The San Ysidro Port of Entry (aka San Ysidro Land Port of Entry or San Ysidro LPOE) is the largest land border crossing between San Diego and Tijuana, and the fourth- busiest land border crossing in the world (second-busiest if one exclu ...
. A second, primarily commercial border crossing operates in the
Otay Mesa
Otay Mesa ( ) is a community in the southern section of the city of San Diego, just north of the U.S.–Mexico border.
It is bordered by the Otay River Valley and the city of Chula Vista on the north; Interstate 805 and the neighborhoods of Oc ...
area; it is the largest commercial crossing on the California-
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
border and handles the third-highest volume of trucks and dollar value of trade among all United States-Mexico land crossings.
![San Ysidro Border Traffic (8653120372) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/San_Ysidro_Border_Traffic_%288653120372%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The
Port of San Diego
The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, California, and is a self-supporting district established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In add ...
is the third busiest port in California and one of the busiest on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
. One of the Port of San Diego's two
cargo
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
facilities is located in
Downtown San Diego
Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and ...
at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal. This terminal has facilities for
containers
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
,
bulk cargo
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.
Description
Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...
, and
refrigerated
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
and frozen storage, so that it can handle the import and export of many commodities. In 2009 the Port of San Diego handled 1,137,054 short tons of total trade; foreign trade accounted for 956,637 short tons while domestic trade amounted to 180,417 short tons.
Historically tuna fishing and canning was one of San Diego's major industries, although the American tuna fishing fleet is no longer based in San Diego. Seafood company
Bumble Bee Foods
Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, is a company that produces canned tuna, salmon, other seafoods, and chicken under the brand names "Bumble Bee," "Wild Selections," "Beach Cliff," "Brunswick," and "Snow's." The brand is marketed as " Clover Leaf" in Can ...
is headquartered in San Diego and
Chicken of the Sea
Chicken of the Sea is a packager and provider of seafood, owned by the Thai Union Group in Samut Sakhon, Thailand. The brand is attached to tuna, salmon, clams, crab, shrimp, mackerel, oysters, kippers and sardines in cans, pouches and cups, as a ...
was until 2018.
Companies
![AT&TBuildingSanDiegoApr09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/AT%26TBuildingSanDiegoApr09.jpg)
San Diego hosts several major producers of wireless cellular technology.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
was founded and is headquartered in San Diego, and is one of the largest private-sector employers in San Diego.
Other wireless industry manufacturers headquartered here include
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
,
LG Electronics
LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
,
Kyocera International
is a Japanese multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommunica ...
,
Cricket Communications
Cricket Wireless is an American prepaid wireless service provider, owned by AT&T. It provides wireless services to ten million subscribers in the United States. Cricket Wireless was founded in March 1999 by Leap Wireless International. AT&T acq ...
and Novatel Wireless. San Diego also has the U.S. headquarters for the Slovakian security company
ESET. San Diego has been designated as an iHub Innovation Center for potential collaboration between wireless and the life sciences.
The
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
and other research institutions have helped to fuel the growth of
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
.
In 2013, San Diego had the second-largest biotech cluster in the United States, below the
Boston area
Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
and above the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
. There are more than 400 biotechnology companies in the area. In particular, the
La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
and nearby
Sorrento Valley
Sorrento Valley is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It is located about 17 mi (27 km) north of Downtown San Diego and its main airport, Lindbergh Field. It is roughly bounded by Interstate 5 and Interstate 805, Camino Santa Fe to ...
areas are home to offices and research facilities for numerous biotechnology companies.
Major biotechnology companies like
Illumina and
Neurocrine Biosciences
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company founded in 1992. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and led by CEO Kevin Gorman. Neurocrine develops treatments for neurological and endocrine-related diseas ...
are headquartered in San Diego, while many other biotech and pharmaceutical companies have offices or research facilities in San Diego. San Diego is also home to more than 140
contract research organization In the life sciences, a contract research organization (CRO) is a company that provides support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries in the form of research services outsourced on a contract basis. A CRO may provid ...
s (CROs) that provide contract services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Real estate
San Diego has high real estate prices. San Diego home prices peaked in 2005, and then declined along with the national trend. As of December 2010, prices were down 36 percent from the peak,
median price of homes having declined by more than $200,000 between 2005 and 2010. As of May 2015, the median price of a house was $520,000. In November 2018 the median home price was $558,000. The San Diego metropolitan area had one of the worst housing affordability rankings of all metropolitan areas in the United States in 2009. The San Diego Housing Market experienced a decline in the median sold price of existing single-family homes between December 2022 and January 2023, with a 2.9% decrease from $850,000 to $824,950.
Consequently, San Diego has experienced negative net migration since 2004. A significant number of people moved to adjacent
Riverside County
Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...
, commuting daily to jobs in San Diego, while others are leaving the region altogether and moving to more affordable regions.
Government
Local government
![Cabrillo Bridge Reenactment 150509-M-PG109-006 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Cabrillo_Bridge_Reenactment_150509-M-PG109-006_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The city is governed by a mayor and a nine-member city council. In 2006, its government changed from a
council–manager government
The council–manager government is a form of local government used for municipalities, counties, or other equivalent regions. It is one of the two most common forms of local government in the United States along with the mayor–council govern ...
to a
strong mayor government, as decided by a citywide vote in 2004. The mayor is in effect the chief executive officer of the city, while the council is the legislative body. The City of San Diego is responsible for
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
, public safety, streets, water and sewer service, planning and zoning, and similar services within its borders. San Diego is a
sanctuary city
Sanctuary city (; ) refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. Leaders of sanctuary cities say they want to reduce fear of deport ...
, however, San Diego County is a participant of the
Secure Communities
Secure Communities is a data-sharing program that relies on coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.ICE. Secure Communities: A Comprehensive Plan to Identify and Remove Criminal Aliens (Strategic Plan). July 21, 2009 ...
program. , the city had one employee for every 137 residents, with a payroll greater than $733 million.
The members of the city council are each elected from single-member districts within the city. The mayor and city attorney are elected directly by the voters of the entire city. The mayor, city attorney, and council members are elected to four-year terms, with a two-term limit. Elections are held on a non-partisan basis per California state law; nevertheless, most officeholders do identify themselves as either Democrats or Republicans. In 2007, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 7 to 6 in the city,
and Democrats currently () hold an 8–1 majority in the city council. The current mayor,
Todd Gloria
Todd Rex Gloria (born May 10, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 37th and current mayor of San Diego since 2020. As a strong mayor, he is the chief executive officer in the city of San Diego. A member of the Democratic Party, he is th ...
, is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
![San Diego City and Administration Building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/San_Diego_City_and_Administration_Building.jpg)
San Diego is part of
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...
, and includes all or part of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th supervisorial districts of the
San Diego County Board of Supervisors
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the county government of San Diego County, California. Though officially nonpartisan, three Democrats and two Republicans currently comprise the Board of Supervisors, wit ...
, Other county officers elected in part by city residents include the
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
,
District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...
, Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, and Treasurer/Tax Collector.
Areas of the city immediately adjacent to
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...
("
tidelands
Tidelands are the territory between the tide line of sea coasts, and lands lying under the sea beyond the low-water limit of the tide, considered within the territorial waters of a nation. The United States Constitution does not specify whether ...
") are administered by the
Port of San Diego
The Port of San Diego is a seaport in San Diego, California. It is located on San Diego Bay in southwestern San Diego County, California, and is a self-supporting district established in 1962 by an act of the California State Legislature. In add ...
, a quasi-governmental agency which owns all the property in the tidelands and is responsible for its land use planning, policing, and similar functions. San Diego is a member of the regional planning agency
San Diego Association of Governments
The San Diego Association of Governments (abbreviated SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the County, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and County ...
(SANDAG). Public schools within the city are managed and funded by independent school districts (see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
).
After narrowly supporting
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
in 1964, San Diego provided majorities to all six Republican presidential candidates from 1968 to 1988. However, in more recent decades, San Diego has trended in favor of
Democratic presidential candidates for president.
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
in 1988 is the last Republican candidate to carry San Diego in a presidential election.
State and federal representation
![San Diego, 2016 - 301](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/San_Diego%2C_2016_-_301.jpg)
In the
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...
, San Diego County encompasses the
38th,
39th and
40th districts, represented by , , and , respectively.
In the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
, lying partially within the city of San Diego are the
77th,
78th,
79th, and
80th districts, represented by , , , and , respectively.
In the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
, San Diego County includes parts or all of California's
49th,
50th,
51st, and
52nd congressional districts, represented by , , , and respectively.
Scandals
San Diego was the site of the 1912
San Diego free speech fight
The San Diego free speech fight in San Diego, California, in 1912 was one of the most famous "free speech fights", class conflicts over the free speech rights of labor unions.
Introduction
By the beginning of the 20th century, growing confronta ...
, in which the city restricted speech, vigilantes brutalized and tortured anarchists, and the
San Diego Police Department
The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of San Diego, California. The department was officially established on May 16, 1889.
History
Prior to the establishment of the San Diego Police Departme ...
killed a member of the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines genera ...
(IWW).
In 1916,
rainmaker Charles Hatfield
Charles Mallory Hatfield (July 15, 1875January 12, 1958) was an American " rainmaker".
Early life
Hatfield was born in Fort Scott, Kansas on July 15, 1875. His family moved to Southern California in the 1880s. As an adult, he became a salesman ...
was blamed for $4 million in damages and accused of causing San Diego's worst
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
, during which about 20
Japanese American
are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...
farmers died.
Then-mayor
Roger Hedgecock
Roger Allan Hedgecock (born May 2, 1946) is an American politician and conservative talk radio host, who served as 30th mayor of San Diego between May 1983 and December 1985. His show is syndicated by Radio America.
Early life
Hedgecock was born ...
was forced to resign his post in 1985, after he was found guilty of one count of
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
and 12 counts of
perjury
Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...
, related to the alleged failure to report all
campaign contributions
Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, Political party, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, a ...
.
After a series of appeals, the 12 perjury counts were dismissed in 1990 based on claims of
juror misconduct
Juror misconduct is when the law of the court is violated by a member of the jury while a court case is in progression or after it has reached a verdict."USLegal Definitions"
Misconduct can take several forms:
* Communication by the jury with tho ...
; the remaining conspiracy count was reduced to a
misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
and then dismissed.
A 2002 scheme to underfund pensions for city employees led to the
San Diego pension scandal The San Diego City Employee's Retirement Pension Fund was the source of a multi-year scandal and has been an ongoing financial concern for the city of San Diego, California.
Situation background
The San Diego City Employees' Retirement System had ...
. This resulted in the resignation of newly re-elected Mayor
Dick Murphy
Richard M. Murphy (born December 16, 1942) is a former American politician who served as the 33rd mayor of San Diego, California from 2000 to 2005.
Early life
Murphy was born 1942 in Oak Park, Illinois. He was captain of the varsity basketbal ...
and the criminal indictment of six pension board members. Those charges were finally dismissed by a federal judge in 2010.
![San Diego, 2016 - 302 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/San_Diego%2C_2016_-_302_%28cropped%29.jpg)
On November 28, 2005, U.S. Congressman
Randy "Duke" Cunningham
Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham (born December 8, 1941) is a former American politician, decorated Vietnam War veteran, fighter ace, and ex-felon. Cunningham served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's ...
resigned after being convicted on federal
bribery
Bribery is the Offer and acceptance, offering, Gift, giving, Offer and acceptance, receiving, or Solicitation, soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With reg ...
charges. He had represented
California's 50th congressional district
California's 50th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, and encompasses the central and northeastern parts of San Diego County and a small part of Riverside County. Darrell Issa is currently the U.S ...
, which includes much of the northern portion of the city of San Diego. In 2006, Cunningham was sentenced to a 100-month prison sentence. He was released in 2013.
In 2005 two city council members,
Ralph Inzunza
Ralph Inzunza (born c. 1969) is a former city councilman from San Diego. He was elected in March 2001 to represent City Council District 8. He resigned in July 2005 along with Councilman Michael Zucchet after both were convicted on federal corrupt ...
and Deputy Mayor
Michael Zucchet
Michael J. Zucchet (born December 24, 1969) is an American Democratic politician, a former member of the San Diego City Council, and a former Deputy Mayor of San Diego. In 2005, he briefly served as the Acting Mayor of San Diego.
Early life and ...
– who briefly took over as acting mayor when Murphy resigned – were convicted of
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
,
wire fraud
Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...
, and
conspiracy to commit wire fraud for taking campaign contributions from a
strip club
A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...
owner and his associates, allegedly in exchange for trying to repeal the city's "no touch" laws at strip clubs. Both subsequently resigned. Inzunza was sentenced to 21 months in prison. In 2009, a judge acquitted Zucchet on seven out of the nine counts against him, and granted his petition for a new trial on the other two charges; the remaining charges were eventually dropped.
In July 2013, three former supporters of mayor
Bob Filner
Robert Earl "Bob" Filner (born September 4, 1942) is an American former politician who was the 35th mayor of San Diego from December 2012 through August 2013, when he resigned amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment. He later pleaded gui ...
asked him to resign because of allegations of repeated
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
. Over the ensuing six weeks, 18 women came forward to publicly claim that Filner had sexually harassed them, and multiple individuals and groups called for him to resign. Filner agreed to resign effective August 30, 2013, subsequently pleaded guilty to one felony count of
false imprisonment
False imprisonment or unlawful imprisonment occurs when a person intentionally restricts another person’s movement within any area without legal authority, justification, or the restrained person's permission. Actual physical restraint is ...
and two misdemeanor
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
charges, and was sentenced to
house arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
and
probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
.
Crime
Like most major cities, San Diego had a declining crime rate from 1990 to 2000. 1991 would mark the city's deadliest year, registering 179 homicides within city limits (while the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
as a whole peaked at 278 homicides), capping off an unabated, eight-year climb in murders, rapes, robberies, and assault dating back to 1983. At the time, the city was ranked last among the 10 most populous U.S. cities in homicides per 1,000 population, and ninth in crimes per 1,000. From 1980 to 1994, San Diego surpassed 100 murders ten times before tapering off to 91 homicides in 1995. That number would not exceed 79 for the next 15 years. Crime in San Diego increased in the early 2000s.
In 2004, San Diego had the sixth lowest crime rate of any U.S. city with over half a million residents.
From 2002 to 2006, the crime rate overall dropped 0.8%, though not evenly by category. While
violent crime
A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, violent act is t ...
decreased 12.4% during this period,
property crime
Property crime is a category of crime, usually involving private property, that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime is a crime to obtain money, property, o ...
increased 1.1%. Total property crimes per 100,000 people were lower than the national average in 2008.
According to
Uniform Crime Report
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR is "a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and co ...
statistics compiled by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) in 2010, there were 5,616 violent crimes and 30,753 property crimes. Of these, the violent crimes consisted of forcible rapes, 73 robberies and 170 aggravated assaults, while 6,387 burglaries, 17,977 larceny-thefts, 6,389 motor vehicle thefts and 155 acts of arson defined the property offenses. In 2013, San Diego had the lowest murder rate of the ten largest cities in the United States.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Public school may refer to:
*State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
*Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...
in San Diego are operated by independent
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
s. The majority of the public schools in the city are served by the
San Diego Unified School District
San Diego Unified School District (formerly known as San Diego City Schools) is the school district based in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1854. As of 2005 it represents over 200 institutions and has over 15,800 employee ...
, the second-largest school district in California, which includes 11 K–8 schools, 107 elementary schools, 24 middle schools, 13 atypical and alternative schools, 28 high schools, and 45
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...
s.
Several adjacent school districts which are headquartered outside the city limits serve some schools within the city; these include the
Poway Unified School District
Poway Unified School District is a school district located in Poway, California. The district operates 26 elementary schools (grades Preschool–5), seven middle schools (6–8); five comprehensive high schools (9–12); and one continuation hi ...
,
Del Mar Union School District
The Del Mar Union School District (DMUSD) is a public school district based in Del Mar in San Diego County, California. The district was founded in 1906. For many years, the district was small, serving approximately 1,000 students in the City ...
,
San Dieguito Union High School District
San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) is a public school district in northern San Diego County, California. Established in 1936, the district serves over 13,000 students in five middle schools, five comprehensive high schools, and one ...
, and
Sweetwater Union High School District
The Sweetwater Union High School District is a school district headquartered in Chula Vista, California. , the school district is the largest secondary school district in California.
The union high school district serves over 42,000 high schoo ...
. In addition, there are a number of private schools in the city.
Colleges and universities
![College West, San Diego, CA, USA - panoramio (36)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/College_West%2C_San_Diego%2C_CA%2C_USA_-_panoramio_%2836%29.jpg)
According to education rankings released by the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
in 2017, 44.4% of San Diegans (city, not county) ages 25 and older hold
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
s, compared to 30.9% in the United States as a whole. The census ranks the city as the ninth-most educated city in the United States, based on these figures.
The largest university in the area is the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
(UC San Diego). The university is the southernmost campus of the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
system and is the second largest employer in the city. It is the only university in the city that is Research I university, classified "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity", and it has the 7th largest research expenditure in the country.
Other public colleges and universities in the city include San Diego State University (SDSU) and the San Diego Community College District, which includes San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College.
![University of San Diego (cropped2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/University_of_San_Diego_%28cropped2%29.jpg)
Private non-profit colleges and universities in the city include the University of San Diego (USD), Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), National University (California), National University's San Diego campus, University of Redlands' School of Business San Diego campus, Brandman University's San Diego campus, San Diego Christian College, and John Paul the Great Catholic University. For-profit institutions include Alliant International University (AIU), California International Business University (CIBU), California College San Diego, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising's San Diego campus, NewSchool of Architecture and Design, Platt College (San Diego), Platt College, Southern States University (SSU), UEI College, and Woodbury University School of Architecture's satellite campus.
There is one medical school in the city, the UC San Diego School of Medicine. There are three American Bar Association, ABA accredited law schools in the city, which include California Western School of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and University of San Diego School of Law. There is also one law school, Western Sierra Law School, not accredited by the ABA.
Libraries
![Geisel Library3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Geisel_Library3.jpg)
The city-run San Diego Public Library system is headquartered downtown and has 36 branches throughout the city. The newest location is in Skyline Hills, which broke ground in 2015. The libraries have had reduced operating hours since 2003 due to the city's financial problems. In 2006 the city increased spending on libraries by $2.1 million.
A new nine-story Central Library on Park Boulevard at J Street opened on September 30, 2013.
In addition to the municipal public library system, there are nearly two dozen libraries open to the public run by other governmental agencies, and by schools, colleges, and universities. Noteworthy are the Malcolm A. Love Library at San Diego State University, and the Geisel Library at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
.
Culture
![San Diego Museum of Man 01 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/San_Diego_Museum_of_Man_01_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The culture of San Diego, California is influenced heavily by the mixing of American culture, American and Mexican cultures, due to the city's position on the Mexican-American border, its large Chicano population, and its history as part of Hispanic America and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. San Diego's longtime association with the U.S. military also contributes to its culture.
Many popular museums, such as the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Museum of Us, the Museum of Photographic Arts, and the San Diego Air & Space Museum, are located in Balboa Park, which is also the location of the
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...
. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is located in La Jolla and has a branch located at the Union Station (San Diego), Santa Fe Depot downtown. The downtown branch consists of two buildings on two opposite streets.
![San Diego Museum of Art 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/San_Diego_Museum_of_Art_02.jpg)
The Columbia, San Diego, California, Columbia district downtown is home to historic ship exhibits belonging to the San Diego Maritime Museum, headlined by the Star of India (ship), Star of India, as well as the unrelated San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum featuring the aircraft carrier.
The San Diego Symphony at
Symphony Towers
Symphony Towers is a 1.2-million-square-foot late modernist two-tower hotel and office complex located in the historic Financial District in downtown San Diego, California, on B Street. The mixed-use, high-rise building includes a 34-story office ...
performs on a regular basis; from 2004 to 2017, its director was Jahja Ling. The San Diego Opera at Civic Center Plaza, directed by David Bennett. Old Globe Theatre at Balboa Park produces about 15 plays and musicals annually. The La Jolla Playhouse at UCSD is directed by Christopher Ashley. Both the Old Globe Theatre and the La Jolla Playhouse have produced the world premieres of plays and musicals that have gone on to win Tony Awards or nominations on Broadway theatre, Broadway. The Joan Kroc, Joan B. Kroc Theatre at Kroc Center's Performing Arts Center is a 600-seat state-of-the-art theater that hosts music, dance, and theater performances. The San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum Theatres in Westfield Horton Plaza produces a variety of plays and musicals. Hundreds of movies and a dozen TV shows have been List of media set in San Diego#Films, filmed in San Diego, a tradition going back as far as 1898.
Sports
![Petco_Park_Padres_Game](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Petco_Park_Padres_Game.jpg)
San Diego is home to one Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major professional sports team, Major League Baseball, Major League Baseball (MLB)'s San Diego Padres. The area is home to several other highest-level professional teams, minor league teams, Semi-professional sports, semi-pro and amateur teams, and college athletics teams.
The region has previously hosted the National Football League, National Football League (NFL)'s San Diego Chargers, Chargers and the National Basketball Association, National Basketball Association (NBA)'s San Diego Rockets, Rockets and San Diego Clippers, Clippers, all three of which relocated from the San Diego area (Chargers and Clippers going to the Los Angeles area, and Rockets going to Houston) due to a combination of ownership and stadium/arena issues. San Diego has additionally been the past home of two other defunct major professional teams: the San Diego Conquistadors, San Diego Conquistadors/Sails, which competed in the American Basketball Association, American Basketball Association (ABA) for four seasons before folding less than a year prior to the ABA–NBA merger of 1976, and the San Diego Mariners, which played three seasons in the World Hockey Association, World Hockey Association (WHA) before folding less than two years before the NHL-WHA merger, NHLABA–NBA merger, –WHA merger of 1979.
Highest-level professional teams
The following teams compete at their sport's highest level of domestic competition
Bold indicates Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major professional league team
''Italic'' indicates Semi-professional sports, semi-pro or professional-level Sports club, club team (highest competitive level leagues of sports with no fully-professional domestic competition)
Minor league professional teams
The following teams compete below their sport's highest level of domestic competition
College athletics
The San Diego State Aztecs (Mountain West Conference, MW), the San Diego Toreros (West Coast Conference, WCC), and the UC San Diego Tritons (Big West Conference, BWC) are NCAA Division I teams. The Cal State San Marcos Cougars (California Collegiate Athletic Association, CCAA) and Point Loma Sea Lions (Pacific West Conference, PacWest) are members of NCAA Division II, while the San Diego Christian College, San Diego Christian Hawks (Golden State Athletic Conference, GSAC) and University of Saint Katherine, Saint Katherine Firebirds (California Pacific Conference, CalPac) are members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, NAIA.
Annual sports events
San Diego has hosted numerous other major sports events. College football's annual Bowl games, bowl game, the Holiday Bowl, is held in the city. The annual Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament (formerly the San Diego Open and Buick Invitational) on the PGA Tour occurs at Torrey Pines Golf Course. This course was also the site of the 2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship. Soccer, American football, and track and field are also played in Balboa Stadium, the city's first stadium, which was constructed in 1914.
The San Diego Yacht Club hosted the America's Cup yacht races three times during the period 1988 to 1995. The amateur beach sport Over-the-line was invented in San Diego, and the annual world Over-the-line championships are held at Mission Bay every year.
Media
![SanDiegoUnionTribuneBuilding2018 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/SanDiegoUnionTribuneBuilding2018_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Published within the city are the daily newspaper, ''The San Diego Union Tribune'' and its online portal of the same name, and the alternative newsweeklies, the ''San Diego CityBeat'' and ''San Diego Reader''. ''Times of San Diego'' is a free online newspaper covering news in the metropolitan area. ''Voice of San Diego'' is a non-profit online news outlet covering government, politics, education, neighborhoods, and the arts. The ''San Diego Daily Transcript'' is a business-oriented online newspaper.
San Diego is also the headquarters of national Far-right politics in the United States, far-right cable TV channel One America News Network, One America News Network (OANN), which was founded in 2013 and is owned by Herring Networks. The network gained notoriety for being ardent supporters of Donald Trump and providing a platform for Right-wing populism, right-wing Conspiracy Theories, conspiracy theories.
San Diego led U.S. local markets with 69.6 percent broadband penetration in 2004 according to Nielsen ratings, Nielsen//NetRatings.
San Diego's first television station was KFMB-TV, KFMB, which began broadcasting on May 16, 1949.
Since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensed seven television stations in Los Angeles, two VHF channels were available for San Diego because of its relative proximity to the larger city. In 1952, however, the FCC began licensing UHF channels, making it possible for cities such as San Diego to acquire more stations. Stations based in Mexico (with ITU prefixes of XE and XH) also serve the San Diego market. Television stations today include XHCPDE-TDT, XHCPDE 11 (Canal Once (Mexico)), XETV-TDT, XETV 6 (Canal 5 (Mexico), Canal 5/Nueve (Mexican TV network), Nueve), KFMB-TV, KFMB 8 (CBS, with The CW/MyNetworkTV, MNTV on DT2), KGTV 10 (American Broadcasting Company, ABC), XEWT-TDT, XEWT 12 (Televisa Regional), KPBS (TV), KPBS 15 (PBS), KBNT-CD 17 (Univision), XHTIT-TDT 21 (Azteca 7), XHJK-TDT 1 (Azteca Uno), XHAS-TDT, XHAS 33 (Azteca América, Azteca America), K35DG-D 35 (UCSD-TV), KDTF-LD 36 (Unimás), KNSD 39 (NBC), KUAN-LD 48 (Telemundo), KSEX-CD 42 (Infomercials), XHBJ-TDT 45 (Canal 6 (Mexico)), XHDTV-TDT, XHDTV 49 (Milenio Televisión), KUSI 51 (Independent), XHUAA-TDT 19 (Canal de las Estrellas), and KSWB-TV 69 (Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox). San Diego has an 80.6 percent cable penetration rate.
[San Diego market in ]
![Parade of Lights 2017 15 - 39114099902](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Parade_of_Lights_2017_15_-_39114099902.jpg)
Due to the ratio of U.S. and Mexican-licensed stations, San Diego is the largest media market in the United States that is legally unable to support a Duopoly (broadcasting), television station duopoly between two full-power stations under Federal Communications Commission, FCC regulations, which disallow duopolies in metropolitan areas with fewer than nine full-power television stations and require that there be eight unique station owners that remain once a duopoly is formed (there are only seven full-power stations on the California side of the San Diego-Tijuana market). Though the E. W. Scripps Company owns KGTV and KZSD-LP, they are not considered a duopoly under the FCC's legal definition as common ownership between full-power and Low-power broadcasting, low-power television stations in the same market is permitted regardless to the number of stations licensed to the area. As a whole, the Mexico side of the San Diego-Tijuana market has two duopolies and one triopoly (Entravision Communications owns both XHAS-TV and XHDTV-TV, Azteca (multimedia company), Azteca owns XHJK-TV and XHTIT-TV, and Televisa, Grupo Televisa owns XHUAA-TV and XEWT-TDT, XEWT-TV along with being the license holder for XETV-TV, which was formerly managed by California-based subsidiary Bay City Television).
San Diego's television market is limited to only
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...
. The Imperial County, California, Imperial Valley, including El Centro, is in the Yuma, Arizona television market while neighboring Orange County, California, Orange and Riverside County, California, Riverside counties are part of the Los Angeles market. (Sometimes in the past, a missing network affiliate in the Imperial Valley would be available on cable TV from San Diego.) As a result, San Diego is the largest single-county media market in the United States.
The radio stations in San Diego include nationwide broadcaster iHeartMedia; Entercom Communications, Local Media San Diego, and many other smaller stations and networks. Stations include: KOGO (AM), KOGO AM 600, KGB (AM), KGB AM 760, KCEO, KCEO AM 1000, KCBQ, KCBQ AM 1170, KPRZ, K-Praise, KLSD, KLSD AM 1360, KFSD, KFSD 1450 AM, KPBS-FM 89.5, KHTS-FM, Channel 933, KMYI, Star 94.1, KBZT, FM 94/9, KSSX, FM News and Talk 95.7, KYDO, Q96 96.1, KYXY, KyXy 96.5, Free Radio San Diego (AKA Pirate Radio San Diego) 96.9FM FRSD, KWFN 97.3, KXSN 98.1, KFBG (FM), Big-FM 100.7, 101.5 KGB-FM, KLVJ (FM), KLVJ 102.1, KSON (FM), KSON 103.7, KIOZ, Rock 105.3, and another ''Pirate Radio'' station at 106.9FM, as well as a number of local Spanish-language radio stations.
Infrastructure
Transportation
![Union Station, San Diego (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Union_Station%2C_San_Diego_%28cropped%29.jpg)
With the automobile being the primary means of transportation for over 80 percent of residents, San Diego is served by a network of freeways and highways. This includes Interstate 5 (California), Interstate 5, which runs south to
Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
and north to Los Angeles; Interstate 8 (California), Interstate 8, which runs east to Imperial County, California, Imperial County and the Arizona Sun Corridor; Interstate 15, which runs northeast through the Inland Empire (California), Inland Empire to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City; and Interstate 805 (California), Interstate 805, which splits from I-5 near the Mexican border and rejoins I-5 at Sorrento Valley.
Major state highways include California State Route 94, SR 94, which connects downtown with I-805, I-15 and East County; California State Route 163, SR 163, which connects downtown with the northeast part of the city, intersects I-805 and merges with I-15 at Miramar, San Diego, Miramar; California State Route 52, SR 52, which connects La Jolla with East County through Santee, California, Santee and California State Route 125, SR 125; California State Route 56, SR 56, which connects I-5 with I-15 through
Carmel Valley and
Rancho Peñasquitos
Rancho or Ranchos may refer to:
Settlements and communities
*Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad
*Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California
**List of California Ranchos
*Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...
; California State Route 75, SR 75, which spans
San Diego Bay
San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of c ...
as the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, and also passes through
South San Diego
South San Diego is a district within the City of San Diego, and is in the larger South Bay region of southwestern San Diego County, California. South San Diego is a practical exclave of San Diego, having no land connection with the rest of the c ...
as Palm Avenue; and California State Route 905, SR 905, which connects I-5 and I-805 to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
![MTSgreenline-convctr (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/MTSgreenline-convctr_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The stretch of SR 163 that passes through Balboa Park is San Diego's oldest freeway, and has been called one of America's most beautiful parkways.
San Diego's roadway system provides an extensive network of cycle routes. Its dry and mild climate makes cycling a convenient year-round option; however, the city's hilly terrain and long average trip distances make cycling less practicable. Older and denser neighborhoods around the downtown tend to be oriented to utility cycling. This is partly because of the grid street patterns now absent in newer developments farther from the urban core, where suburban style arterial roads are much more common. As a result, the majority of cycling is recreational. In 2006, San Diego was rated the best city (with a population over 1 million) for cycling in the U.S.
![CBX exterior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/CBX_exterior.jpg)
San Diego is served by the San Diego Trolley light rail system,
by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, SDMTS bus system, private Share taxi#United States, jitneys in some neighborhoods, and by Coaster (San Diego), Coaster
and Pacific Surfliner, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner
commuter rail; northern San Diego County, California, San Diego county is also served by the Sprinter (light rail), Sprinter light rail line. The trolley primarily serves downtown and surrounding urban communities, Mission Valley, San Diego, California, Mission Valley, east county, and coastal south bay. A mid-coast extension of the Trolley operates from
Old Town
In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
to University City, San Diego, California, University City and the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
along the I-5 Freeway since November 2021. The Amtrak and Coaster trains currently run along the coastline and connect San Diego with Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura via Metrolink (Southern California), Metrolink and the Pacific Surfliner. There are two Amtrak stations in San Diego, in Old Town Transit Center (MTS Transit Center), Old Town and Union Station (San Diego, California), the Santa Fe Depot downtown. San Diego transit information about public transportation and commuting is available on the Web and by dialing "5-1-1, 511" from any phone in the area.
The city has two major commercial airports within or near its city limits. Downtown
San Diego International Airport
San Diego International Airport , formerly known as Lindbergh Field, is an international airport northwest of Downtown San Diego, California, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.. US Federa ...
(SAN), also known as Lindbergh Field, is the busiest single-runway airport in the United States.
It served over 24 million passengers in 2018, and is dealing with larger numbers every year. It is located on San Diego Bay, from downtown, and maintains scheduled flights to the rest of the United States (including Hawaii), as well as to Canada, Germany, Mexico, Japan, and the United Kingdom. It is operated by an independent agency, the San Diego Regional Airport Authority. Tijuana International Airport has a terminal within the city limits in the
Otay Mesa
Otay Mesa ( ) is a community in the southern section of the city of San Diego, just north of the U.S.–Mexico border.
It is bordered by the Otay River Valley and the city of Chula Vista on the north; Interstate 805 and the neighborhoods of Oc ...
district connected to the rest of the airport in
Tijuana
Tijuana ( ,["Tijuana"](_blank)
(US) and [< ...]
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, via the Cross Border Xpress cross-border footbridge. It is the primary airport for flights to the rest of Mexico, and offers connections via Mexico City to the rest of Latin America. In addition, the city has two general-aviation airports, Montgomery Field (MYF) and Brown Field Municipal Airport, Brown Field (SDM).
![2012 Festival of Sail 934278934983](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/2012_Festival_of_Sail_934278934983.jpg)
Recent regional transportation projects have sought to mitigate congestion, including improvements to local freeways, expansion of San Diego Airport, and doubling the capacity of the cruise ship terminal. Freeway projects included expansion of Interstates 5 and 805 around "The Merge" where these two freeways meet, as well as expansion of Interstate 15 through North County, which includes new high-occupancy vehicle lane, high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) "managed lanes". A tollway (the southern portion of SR 125, known as the South Bay Expressway) connects SR 54 and Otay Mesa, near the Mexican border. According to an assessment in 2007, 37 percent of city streets were in acceptable condition. However, the proposed budget fell $84.6 million short of bringing streets up to an acceptable level.
Expansion at the port has included a second cruise terminal on Broadway Pier, San Diego, Broadway Pier, opened in 2010. Airport projects include expansion of Terminal Two.
Utilities
Water is supplied to residents by the Water Department of the City of San Diego. The city receives most of its water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Gas and electric utilities are provided by San Diego Gas & Electric, a division of Sempra Energy.
;Street lights
![Sandiego gaslampquarter (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Sandiego_gaslampquarter_%28cropped%29.JPG)
In the mid-20th century the city had mercury vapor street lamps. In 1978, the city decided to replace them with more efficient sodium vapor lamps. This triggered an outcry from astronomers at Palomar Observatory north of the city, concerned that the new lamps would increase light pollution and hinder astronomical observation. The city altered its lighting regulations to limit light pollution within of Palomar.
In 2011, the city announced plans to upgrade 80% of its street lighting to new energy-efficient lights that use Electrodeless lamp, induction technology, a modified form of fluorescent lamp producing a broader spectrum than sodium vapor lamps. The new system is predicted to save $2.2 million per year in energy and maintenance.
The city stated the changes would "make our neighborhoods safer."
They also increase light pollution.
In 2014, San Diego announced plans to become the first U.S. city to install cyber-controlled street lighting, using an "intelligent" lighting system to control 3,000 LED street lights.
Notable people
Sister cities
San Diego's sister cities are:
* Alcalá de Henares, Spain (est. 1982)
* Campinas, Brazil (est. 1995)
* Cavite City, Philippines (est. 1969)
* Edinburgh, Scotland (est. 1977)
* Jalalabad, Afghanistan (est. 2004)
* Jeonju, South Korea (est. 1983)
* León, Guanajuato, León, Mexico (est. 1969)
* Panama City, Panama (est. 2015)
* City of Perth, Perth, Australia (est. 1986)
* Taichung, Taiwan (est. 1983)
* Tema, Ghana (est. 1976)
* Tijuana Municipality, Tijuana, Mexico (est. 1993)
* Vladivostok, Russia (est. 1991)
* Warsaw, Poland (est. 1996)
* Yantai, China (est. 1985)
* Yokohama, Japan (est. 1957)
See also
* USS San Diego, USS ''San Diego'', 4 ships
Notes
References
General sources
*
*
External links
*
Civic San Diego(replaced redevelopment corporations)
SANDAG, San Diego's Regional Planning AgencyDemographic Fact Sheetfrom United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau
San Diego Historical SocietySan Diego Unified School DistrictSan Diego Public LibrarySan Diego Tourism Authority (formerly the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau)
{{Authority control
San Diego,
1769 establishments in Alta California
1850 establishments in California
California Enterprise Zones
Cities in San Diego County, California
County seats in California
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Populated coastal places in California
Populated places established in 1769
Port cities in California
San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line
San Diego Bay
San Diego County, California
San Diego metropolitan area, .
Spanish mission settlements in North America
Stagecoach stops in the United States