City, San Diego County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 92140, 92182, 92184, 92187, 92120, 92123, 92114, 92152, 92128, 92103, 92139, 92130, 92119, 92161, 92134, 92116, 92121, 92105, 92132, 92136, 92147, 92145, 92101, 92154, 92127, 92107, 92110, 92102, 92197, 92104, 92111, 92131, 92113, 92124, 92122, 92115, 92199, 92106, 92126, 92108, 92117, 92129, 92109
Largest
city in San Diego County, the government “seat” of the county, and the
eighth-most populous city in the nation, behind San Antonio, Phoenix,
Philadelphia, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Population 1,376,173. www.mccormacks.com
In 2005,
SANDAG, the planning agency put the median age of residents at 34. Children and
teens under 18 make up 24 percent of the population. Those over 65 account for
10 percent. These numbers say “middle” — not too many of one age group or
another.
San Diego
is a big, sprawling city that is laid out in a way bound to confuse. On maps,
the City of San Diego seems to stop at National City and the South Bay freeway.
Click for regional or detailed map
In
reality, San Diego includes much of the land south of Chula Vista — Palm
City, San Ysidro, the Otay Mesa. Years ago, the city annexed a narrow strip
down the Bay — a practice called cherry-stemming — and took in
these communities and the land down to the Mexican border.
Moving
north and inland, the city takes in Carmel Valley, Mira Mesa, Rancho Peñasquitos,
Scripps Ranch and Rancho Bernardo and snakes up east of Escondido to include
the Wild Animal Park and San Pasqual.
The city
also includes La Jolla, University City, Torrey Pines, part of Fairbanks Ranch
and some of the new neighborhoods near Highway 56. www.mccormacks.com
San Diego
is both a metropolitan city and a suburban city. It is building thousands of
apartments and condos in its downtown and thousands of homes in its suburban
neighborhoods.
The City
of San Diego includes some of the poorest neighborhoods in the county and some
of the richest. Most, however, fall into category of middle class, and this
simple demographic fact greatly affects the quality of life.
Crime and
school scores are influenced by demographics. San Diego has its violent and its
criminal — but not in the numbers found in many big American cities. See Crime.
See the
chapter on crime. In 2007, the city recorded 59 homicides. The counts for
previous years are 68, 51, 62, 65, 47, 51, 54, 57, 42, 67, 79, 91,113, 133, 146, 167,
135, 121 and 144. The cops have divided the city into 103 zones. In one recent
typical year, the cops reported zero homicides in 72 zones, one or two
homicides in 27 and three or four homicides in 4.
In 2007,
the New York Times ran an analysis of crime in the most populous cities in the U.S.
San Diego placed third, behind New York and Los Angeles. www.mccormacks.com
San Diego
Unified School District educates most of San Diego's children. But San Diego
kids also attend schools in several other districts, including Poway, San
Ysidro, South Bay Union and Sweetwater.
In its
poorer sections, San Diego has schools that land in the 20th to 40th percentile
— which indicates many kids are struggling. As bad as this sounds, many
neighborhoods in other California cities post rankings under the 10th
percentile. San Diego’s rankings indicate that there is something to build on.
In some
urban situations, academic rankings take quantum leaps between the poor and,
say, an upper-income neighborhood, which may sharpen social divisions. In San
Diego, the scores move evenly across the spectrum, most of the children scoring
about the middle or slightly above. See Schools.
Some
neighborhoods — La Jolla and Tierrasanta — can be defined precisely
as rich or affluent. “Poor” neighborhoods resist labeling. San Diego certainly
has them but often they are located next to or close to middle-class
neighborhoods or streets.
The same
with ethnic neighborhoods. San Diego has them but often they trail off into
blended neighborhoods. www.mccormacks.com
None of
this is meant to suggest that peace and harmony reign throughout the city. San
Diego has its arguments over ethnicity and crime and schools. But the social
divisions are not as sharp, perhaps, as found elsewhere.
If you are
from the East Coast or Midwest, San Diego will strike you as clean. Almost all
western cities are. They did not develop until well into the 20th century and
escaped the grime of the Industrial Revolution.
San Diego
in 1900 was a village of 17,700 residents. In 1940, it was a regional city of
203,341 people.
Its
great boom — and this is true generally of the West Coast — did not
come until World War II, when the United States fought what was to be the first
of three Pacific wars and greatly expanded its military and commercial presence
in the Pacific.
Since
World War II, San Diego has continued to grow rapidly and in the last 25 years
has just about doubled its population. A lot of the housing stock is fairly
new, and this has polished the city’s appearance. On the less than lustrous
side, the sun — shining brightly — sucks some of the glitter out of
the paint. www.mccormacks.com
For
reasons mysterious, San Diegans have a predilection for lawns. Some people pull
them off beautifully; at the height of summer, the annual 10 inches of rain
having fallen, their lawns look gorgeous. Many others surrender some time in
June or July; the lawns are mowed and well-kept — and golden brown.
The state
in 2010 counted 514,554 housing units — 231,557 single detached, 46,078
single attached, 230,578 apartments and condos, 6,341 mobiles.
San Diego
is the only city in the county with big-city muscle and ambition. It plays in
the major leagues — the Chargers and the Padres (new park in the
downtown). It attracts the Broadway shows. In its business centers, the great
deals are made, the big projects are initiated.
The
University of California (at La Jolla) is world renowned. San Diego State
University is one of the most popular in California. The University of San
Diego, private, also enjoys a good reputation.
Parks are
numerous, amusements many, and include a large zoo — the pride of the
city — and Sea World. In beauty and amusements, Balboa Park rivals and
probably surpasses Central Park in New York. San Diego is an inland city and an ocean city; miles of
beaches. www.mccormacks.com
Divided
naturally by hills, ravines, water and mesas and by freeways, San Diego evolved
into a city of geographically distinct neighborhoods, about 100 in all. But
many are quite small and in descriptions of the city the smaller neighborhoods
are often folded into larger ones. The neighborhoods listed in the profiles are
identified as, for example, Rancho Bernardo (City of San Diego Neighborhood).
For ease of comprehension, we have grouped neighborhoods.
• Big
doings in the downtown. Convention center was expanded. In 2004, Padres moved
into a new stadium. Many apartment and condo buildings being erected.
• One of
these years or decades, San Diego may do something major about Lindbergh Field,
the international airport. Many planes approach Lindbergh from over the
downtown. Several plans have been advanced about expanding Lindbergh or
diverting some of its cargo traffic but all have been rejected. In 2006, a proposal was floated to turn a
part of Miramar Naval Air Station into an international airport. Voters said,
No Way.
• Voters
in 1998 approved a $1.5 billion bond for the San Diego district to build and
renovate schools. Much of this work is still being done.
• In 2004,
a tribute to San Diego's naval history: Decommissioned carrier “Midway” was
opened as a museum, joined later by a decommissioned Soviet submarine (that in
the Cold War was thought to have spied on ships leaving San Diego harbor).
Effort underway to secure the battleship Missouri for the museum. www.mccormacks.com
• Bad days
for politicians and city finances. In 2004 and 2005, two council members were
convicted of contribution shenanigans (one conviction was overturned on appeal).
After a
bruising campaign and a court fight over who won (close race), the mayor
resigned.
San Diego
discovered that its pension plan was underfunded (short $1.4 billion) and,
probably, all too generous to employees.
The city's bond rating was lowered. The city manager quit. Six people on
the pension board were indicted.
A
congressman got caught taking bribes and in 2006 was dispatched to prison. San
Diego Union Tribune won a Pulitzer for exposing the fellow.
San Diego
has responded by changing its policies and electing new faces, including a
mayor, Jerry Sanders, a former police chief. www.mccormacks.com
In 2006,
the voters approved another measure to rein in pensions. There is general
agreement that city needs to cut programs to get its finances in order and some
talk of increasing taxes.
• Chargers are pushing for a new stadium
and threatening to move if they don’t get one. With its finances in disarray,
San Diego seems willing to let the Chargers go but would like to see the team
remain in the county. Among alternatives: sites in National City and Chula
Vista.
• Smoking
lamp is not quite out but it’s getting there. City council in 2006 banned
smoking in parks and at beaches.
• Sewage
spills or leaks occasionally close beaches and infuriate the beach stores and
swimming-surfing crowd. Still occurring but fewer. In 2004, thirty-three spills reached public waters; in 2005,
nine. Causes of spills: tree roots, line breaks, grease clogs. After it was sued, city purchased
inspection cameras and stepped up pipe replacement.
City web
site: www.sandiego.gov
