University City, San Diego, California

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University City, San Diego is a community in the city of San Diego, California, United States.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The University Towne Center shopping mall is located near the center of University City, while the campus of the University of California, San Diego, from whom the area derives its name, is to the west. The local high school is University City High School. Because these communities are all part of the city of San Diego, there are no official borders between them.

The natural border that divides north and south UC.

There are two distinct parts of University City divided by Rose Canyon and the railroad tracks. South of Rose Canyon is the older part of University City, historically referred to as University Square, centered on Governor Drive.[1][2][3] It is a mostly residential neighborhood along Governor Drive with many single family homes. Just southwest of the Governor Drive exit from I-805 is a commercially zoned area containing office parks with low-rise buildings. Intuit's consumer tax group was one of the tenants until August 2007, when they relocated to a new campus in the Torrey Highlands area of San Diego.[4] South UC was developed primarily in the 1960s and 70s.

Six churches along Governor Drive, Clairemont Drive and San Diego California Temple on Charmant Drive.

The newer part of University City north of the Rose Canyon is usually referred to UTC (originally University Towne Centre). UTC and University City are sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the entire Golden Triangle area.

The topography of University City is mesas and canyons such as Rose Canyon and San Clemente Canyon and their feeder canyons that provide most of the remaining open space. They provide wildlife habitats, views and opportunities for recreation but they aggravate wildfire risks and transportation problems.

[edit] Economy

UTC is primarily condo and apartment complexes with a cluster of hotels and high rise office buildings with mostly financial services as tenants. Besides containing three local shopping centers, there is also a large regional shopping mall anchored by Sears, Nordstrom and Macy's. UTC also has some parks, an elementary school, and police and fire stations. The eastern mesas of UTC have recently been developed for industrial use, and are home to several biotech companies. The northern tip hosts the Center for Communications Research, a branch of the federally funded Institute for Defense Analyses that performs classified research for the National Security Agency.[5] North UC was developed primarily in the 1980s and 90s, and rapid growth and development continue.

Housing prices had increased up to the mid 2000s along with the rest of San Diego, and there has been a strong drive to convert apartments to condos.

A local strip mall at Governor and Genesee is anchored by a Vons grocery store and a Rite Aid pharmacy. Another strip mall anchored by Henry's Marketplace is to the west at Governor and Regents.

[edit] Demographics

There is also a demographic divide between UTC (North) and South UC. Residents of South UC tend to be homeowners with a large population of retired persons, partly due to a retirement community east and south of Genesee. There is little racial diversity in South UC, with whites predominant.[citation needed] UTC tends to be younger - young professionals, college graduates and university students. Also, more of the population of North UC rent rather than own their homes. There are several university owned off-campus housing projects for graduate students. UTC is more racially diverse, with Asians and Latinos as well as foreign nationals (often postgraduate researchers).[citation needed]

University City also faces problems with growth and the division between the interests of its two halves.[citation needed]

[edit] Transportation

The Rail Authority has mentioned University City as a possible location for a California High-Speed Rail station.[6]

The only connection between UTC and South UC (not including the bordering 8-lane freeways Interstate 5 and Interstate 805) is the four-lane Genesee Avenue. An extension of Regents Road through Rose Canyon has long been proposed to alleviate congestion on Genesee, although there is no evidence to support this claim. It has also been proposed that Genesee Avenue be widened to accommodate one or two extra lanes, which would not affect the surrounding land.

[edit] Notable events

  • On March 10, 1989, a pipe bomb attached to the minivan of a woman exploded while she was driving near the University Towne Center mall.[7] She was the wife of Will C. Rogers III, the captain of the USS Vincennes who gave the order to shoot down Iran Air Flight 655. She escaped the blast. Initially, it was suspected to be a terrorist retaliation for the downing of the airliner, but the investigation shifted away from this hypothesis.[8] At this time, the bombing is still unsolved.
  • On August 1, 2003, a serious case of arson, alleged to be eco-terrorism, destroyed a housing complex under construction at the east side of UTC.[9]
  • On December 8, 2008 at approximately 11:59:00 AM (PST) a military F/A-18 bound for the nearby military base crashed into several homes destroying them on the southeast corner of Cather Avenue and Huggins Street. The pilot ejected and was not injured. There were at least four civilians killed on the ground by the impact and fire that followed.[10][11][12][13]

[edit] Neighbors

University City's Neighbors Include:

[edit] Education

Southern University Square hosts three schools and community branch library:

[edit] Recreation

  • Several golf courses in the San Diego area can be recognized as children-friendly. The first course is the University City Golf Course. It's located off Interstate 805, at the Governor Drive exit (6301 Gullstrand Street, San Diego, CA 92122). It features 9 holes, and its par is 27. Most holes are about 100 yards (91 m) long or less, except one "monster" hole, the 6th, which measures 140 yards (130 m). The 9th green is located far away from the clubhouse, so to get back you can either walk off the course onto the street and back, or you can walk the course backwards, being watchful for errant shots from other players, until you are back to the first tee.
  • Standley Recreation Center is 21.75-acre (88,000 m2) site acquired in 1974 and dedicated in 1978. It is located at 3585 Governor Drive, San Diego, CA 92122.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Insight Guide San Diego (Insight Pocket Guides) by John Wilcock (2004)
  2. ^ Outdoors San Diego: Hiking, Biking & Camping by Tom Leech and Jack Farnan (2004)
  3. ^ Metropolitan San Diego: How Geography And Lifestyle Shape A New Urban Environment (Metropolitan Portraits) by Larry R. Ford (2004)
  4. ^ Intuit Locations
  5. ^ CCR La Jolla Home Page
  6. ^ CA High-Speed Rail Authority. "Route Map". http://www.cahighspeedrail.ca.gov/map.htm. Retrieved on 2009-03-15. 
  7. ^ Reinhold, Robert (March 11, 1989). "Blast Wrecks Van of Skipper Who Downed Iran Jet". The New York Times. 
  8. ^ "Rogers Bombing Not Terrorists?". Associated Press. October 2, 1989. http://www.milnet.com/sepoct89.htm. Retrieved on 2007-01-28. 
  9. ^ Soto, Onell R. (23 February 2006). "Feds arrest environment radical over S.D. speech". San Diego Union-Tribune (Copley Press). http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060223-9999-1m23rod.html. Retrieved on 18 December 2008. 
  10. ^ F/A-18 military jet slams into San Diego neighborhood
  11. ^ Angelica Martinez and Debbi Baker; Steve Liewer (8 December 2008). "Three dead as military jet crashes into University City neighborhood". San Diego Union-Tribune (Copley Press). http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081208-1453-bn08plane4.html. Retrieved on 18 December 2008. 
  12. ^ http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/08/military-jet-crashes-san-diego-neighborhood
  13. ^ Tony Manolatos, Steve Liewer and Rick Rogers (11 December 2008). "Hundreds mourn family killed in Marine jet crash". San Diego Union-Tribune (Copley Press). http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081211-9999-1n11crash.html. Retrieved on 18 December 2008. 
  14. ^ University of San Diego: Off the Record (College Prowler) (College Prowler: University of San Diego Off the Record) by James Leanoard (2005)
  15. ^ University of San Diego 2007 (College Prowler) by College Prowler (2006)

[edit] Community Map

University City is commonly referred to as the Golden Triangle,[citation needed] from the shape formed by its highway boundaries. It is outlined in the image below.

[edit] External links

  • University City Community Association [1]
  • University City High School [2]


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