San Diego

"San Diego" redirects here. For other uses, see San Diego (disambiguation).

San Diego, California
Flag of San Diego, California Flag Seal
Nickname:  America's Finest City
Location of San Diego within San Diego County
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Diego
Government
• Mayor	Jerry Sanders
• City Attorney	Michael Aguirre
• City Council	Scott Peters Kevin Faulconer Toni Atkins Tony Young Brian Maienschein Donna Frye Jim Madaffer Ben Hueso
Elevation	72 ft (22 m)
Population  (2005)
• City	1,255,540
• Metro	2,933,462 (4,804,806 when including Tijuana)
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
Website	http://www.sandiego.gov/
Other City Symbols City Flower: Carnation City Urban Tree: Jacaranda City Native Tree: Torrey Pine

San Diego is a coastal Southern California city located in the southwestern corner of the continental United States. As of 2005, the city has a population of 1,255,540 people. It is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest in the United States. It is the county seat of San Diego County.Template:GR The San Diego metropolitan area has over 3 million people while the larger metropolitan area, which includes Tijuana, Mexico, is the 21st-largest in the Americas, with a population over 4.8 million.

San Diego lies just north of the Mexican border (shares border with Tijuana, Mexico) and lies south of Orange County. It is home to miles of beaches, a mild Mediterranean climate and multiple military institutions, such as the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Marine Corps.

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the affiliated UCSD Medical Center combined with nearby research institutes in the Torrey Pines area of La Jolla, provide a base for technological innovation. San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair and construction, software devlopment, telecommunications and tourism.

History

Main article: History of San Diego, California

The area has long been inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The first European to visit the region was Portuguese explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, (1499 - 1543), who sailed his flagship, the San Salvador, from Navidad, New Spain. Cabrillo claimed the bay for the Spanish Empire and named the site San Miguel. In November of 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548-1624) was sent to map the California coast. He arrived with his flagship "San Diego". Vizcaíno surveyed the harbor and what is now Mission Bay and Point Loma, naming the area for the Spanish Catholic Saint St. Didacus (More commonly known as San Diego). On November 12 1602, the first Christian religious service of record in Alta California was conducted by Fray Antonio de la Ascensión, a member of Vizcaíno's expedition, to celebrate the feast day of San Diego.

In 1769, the Presidio of San Diego (military post), which overlooks Old Town, was established by Gaspar de Portolà at almost the same time as Mission San Diego de Alcalá was founded by the Franciscan friars led by Father Junípero Serra. By 1797 the mission boasted the largest native population in Alta California (over 1,400 neophytes lived in and around the mission proper). After New Spain won its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1823, Mission San Diego de Alcalá's fortunes declined in the 1830s after the decree of secularization was enacted, as was the case with all of the missions under the control of Mexico. In 1847 San Diego was a destination of the 2000 mile march of the Mormon Battalion which built the city's first courthouse with brick.

After the Battle of San Pascual, the end of the Mexican-American War and the gold rush of 1848, San Diego was designated the seat of the newly-established San Diego County and was incorporated as a city in 1850. In the years before World War I, the anti-capitalist labor union the Industrial Workers of the World conducted a free speech fight in San Diego, and was met with a brutal response.

Significant U.S. Naval presence began in 1907 with the establishment of the Navy Coaling Station, which gave further impetus to the development of the town. San Diego hosted two World's Fairs, the Panama-California Exposition in 1915 and the California Pacific International Exposition in 1935. Many of the Spanish/Baroque-style buildings in the city's Balboa Park were built for these expositions (especially for the one in 1915). Intended to be temporary structures, most remained in continuous use until they progressively fell into disrepair. All were eventually rebuilt using castings of the original facades to faithfully retain the architectural style.

Downtown San Diego, seen from Horton Plaza.

After World War II, the military played an increasing role in the local economy. But at the end of the Cold War the local economy experienced a downturn due to cutbacks in the local defense and aerospace industry. San Diego leaders sought to diversify the city's economy, and San Diego has since become a major center of the emerging biotech industry. It is also home to telecommunications giant Qualcomm.

A series of scandals has rocked the city in recent years. With mounting pressure due to underfunding of pensions for city employees that began prior to his administration, Mayor Dick Murphy, in April 2005, announced his intention to resign by mid-July. Two city council members, Ralph Inzunza and deputy mayor Michael Zucchet — who was to take Murphy's place — were ultimately convicted of extortion, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for taking campaign contributions from a strip club owner and his associates, allegedly in exchange for trying to repeal the city's "no touch" laws at strip clubs. Both subsequently resigned. The judge later set aside (overturned) the conviction in Zucchet's case.

On November 28 2005, U.S. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigned over a bribery scandal. Cunningham represented California's 50th congressional district, which mostly lies outside (north) of the city of San Diego proper. He is currently serving a one-hundred month sentence in prison.

A view of One America Plaza from Seaport Village

Downtown San Diego has been enjoying an urban renewal since the 1980s, beginning with the opening of Horton Plaza, the revival of the Gaslamp Quarter, and the construction of the San Diego Convention Center. The Centre City Development Corporation (CCDC), San Diego's downtown redevelopment agency, has transformed what was a largely abandoned downtown into a glittering showcase of waterfront skyscrapers, live-work loft developments, five-star hotels, and a slew of cafes, restaurants, and shops.

The North Embarcadero is slated to have parks in addition to a waterfront promenade. And Balboa Park will be linked to downtown with a view corridor. The recent boom in the construction of condos and skyscrapers has brought with it a gentrification frenzy, and some people are concerned that speculators have played too big a role in the condo market downtown. In the meantime, the city is committed to a "smart growth" development scheme that would increase density along transit corridors in older neighborhoods (the "City of Villages" planning concept.) Some neighborhoods are resisting this planning approach. But "mixed-use development" has had its successes, especially the award-winning Uptown Shopping Center in Hillcrest.

The latest accomplishment of CCDC has been the recent inauguration of PETCO Park. The once-industrial East Village adjacent to the new ballpark is now the new frontier in San Diego's downtown urban renewal.

Geography

See also: Beaches in San Diego, California

See also: Parks in San Diego, California

The city of San Diego itself has deep canyons separating its mesas, creating small pockets of natural parkland scattered throughout the city. Downtown San Diego is located on San Diego Bay. Balboa Park lies on a mesa to the northeast. It is surrounded by several dense urban communities and abruptly ends in Hillcrest to the north. The Coronado and Point Loma peninsulas separate San Diego Bay from the ocean. Ocean Beach is on the west side of Point Loma. Mission Beach and Pacific Beach lie between the ocean and Mission Bay, a man-made aquatic park. La Jolla, an affluent community, lies north of Pacific Beach. Mount Soledad in La Jolla offers views from northern San Diego County to Mexico. Mountains rise to the east of the city, and beyond the mountains are desert areas. Cleveland National Forest is a half-hour drive from downtown San Diego. Numerous farms are found in the valleys northeast of the city. San Diego County also has more endangered plant and animal species (as determined by US Environmental Protection Agency) than any other county in the United States.

Climate

See also: San Diego Climate

San Diego predominantly has a semi-arid warm steppe climate (Koppen climate classification BSh). It enjoys mild, sunny weather throughout the year. Average monthly temperatures range from about 57 Fahrenheit (14 °C) in January to 72 Fahrenheit (22 °C) in July, although late summer and early autumn are typically the hottest times of the year. Snow and ice are rare in the wintertime, typically occurring only inland from the coast when present. "May gray and June gloom", a local saying, refers to the way in which San Diego sometimes has trouble shaking off the fog that comes in during those months. Temperatures soar to very high readings only on rare occasions, chiefly when easterly winds bring hot, dry air from the inland deserts (these winds are called "Santa Anas"). The average annual precipitation is less than 12 inches (300 mm), resulting in a borderline arid climate. Rainfall is strongly concentrated in the cooler half of the year, particularly the months December through March, although precipitation is lower than any other part of the U.S. west coast. The summer months are virtually rainless. Rainfall is highly variable from year to year and from month to month, and San Diego is subject to both droughts and floods. Thunderstorms and hurricanes are very rare.

Climate in the San Diego area often varies dramatically over short geographical distances, due to 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" cloud cover will keep the air cool and damp within a few miles of the coast, but will yield to bright cloudless sunshine between about 5 and 15 miles inland -- the cities of El Cajon and Santee for example, rarely experience the cloud cover. This phenomenon is known as microclimate.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °F (°C)	65.8 (18.8)	66.6 (19.2)	66.4 (19.1)	68.4 (20.2)	69.1 (20.6)	71.6 (22.0)	76.3 (24.6)	77.7 (25.4)	77.2 (25.1)	74.7 (23.7)	70.0 (21.1)	66.0 (18.9)	70.9 (21.6)
Avg low °F (°C)	48.9 (9.4)	50.7 (10.4)	52.9 (11.6)	55.6 (13.1)	59.2 (15.1)	61.9 (16.6)	65.7 (18.7)	67.3 (19.6)	65.7 (18.7)	61.0 (16.1)	54.0 (12.2)	48.7 (9.3)	57.6 (14.2)
Rainfall inches (millimeters)	2.28 (57.9)	2.04 (51.8)	2.26 (57.4)	0.75 (19.0)	0.20 (5.1)	0.09 (2.3)	0.03 (0.8)	0.09 (2.3)	0.21 (5.3)	0.44 (11.2)	1.07 (27.2)	1.31 (33.3)	10.77 (273.6)
Source: Weather.com

Communities and neighborhoods

Old Town, San Diego

Northern: Bay Ho, Bay Park, Carmel Valley, Clairemont Mesa East, Clairemont Mesa West, Del Mar Heights, La Jolla, La Jolla Village, Mission Beach, North City, North Clairemont, Pacific Beach, University City.

Northeastern: Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Miramar, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos, Sabre Springs, San Pasqual Valley, Scripps Ranch, Sorrento Valley

Eastern: Allied Gardens, Birdland, Del Cerro, Grantville, Kearny Mesa, Lake Murray, Mission Valley East, San Carlos, Serra Mesa, Tierrasanta

Western: Hillcrest, La Playa, Linda Vista, Loma Portal, Midtown, Midway District, Mission Hills, Mission Valley West, Morena, North Park, Ocean Beach, Old Town, Point Loma Heights, Roseville-Fleetridge, Sunset Cliffs, University Heights, Wooded Area

Central: Balboa Park, Bankers Hill, Barrio Logan, Downtown San Diego (Colombia, Core, Cortez Hill, East Village, Gaslamp Quarter, Horton, Little Italy, Marina), Golden Hill, Grant Hill, Logan Heights, Memorial, Sherman Heights, South Park, Stockton

Mid-City: City Heights, College Area, Darnall, El Cerrito, Gateway, Kensington, Normal Heights, Oak Park, Rolando, Talmadge, Webster

Southeastern: Alta Vista, Bay Terrace, Broadway Heights, Chula Vista, Emerald Hills, Encanto, Jamacha-Lomita, Lincoln Park, Mountain View, Mt. Hope, Paradise Hills, Shelltown, Skyline, Southcrest, Valencia Park

Southern: Egger Highlands, Nestor, Ocean Crest, Otay Mesa, Otay Mesa West, Palm City, San Ysidro, Tijuana River Valley

Demographics

Downtown San Diego

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,223,400 people, 450,691 households, and 271,315 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,771.9 people per square mile (1,456.4/km²). There were 469,689 housing units at an average density of 1,448.1 per square mile (559.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city is as follows:

• White (46.4%)
• Hispanic (25.4%)
• other races (12.4%)
• African American (10.8%)
• Filipino (6.1%)
• Two or more races (4.8%)
• Vietnamese(2.2%)
• Chinese (1.9%)
• Other Asian (1.5%)
• Native American (1.3%)
• Japanese (0.8%)
• Korean (0.6%)
• Asian Indian (0.6%) These figures must be mistaken, since their sum gives 114.8% instead of 125.4% or 100.0%. If Hispanics are deemed to be a separate race, then the sum should be 100%, but if we consider them as an ethnicity, as stated by the official U.S. census policy (see Ethnicity (United States Census)), then the sum should be 125.4%.

There were 450,691 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. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals 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.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males.

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 $23,609. 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.

Current estimates

According to estimates by the San Diego Association of Governments, the median household income of San Diego in 2005 was $62,085 (not adjusted for inflation). When adjusted for inflation 1999 dollars; comparable to Census data above), the median household income was $50,415. According to the U.S. Census 2004 American Community Survey, San Diego city had the fifth largest median household income of places with a population of 250,000 or more.

Crime

San Diego has had a declining crime rate since the early 1990s. In 2004, San Diego had the sixth lowest crime rate of any U.S. city with over half a million residents. In 2005, San Diego had 4.2 murders per 100,000 (national average of 5.6) and was the lowest U.S. city over one million residents.

Economy

Downtown San Diego at night

See also: List of companies headquartered in San Diego

Several areas of San Diego (in particular La Jolla and surrounding Sorrento Valley areas) are home to offices and research facilities for numerous biotech companies. Major biotech companies like Neurocrine Biosciences and Nventa Biopharmaceuticals are headquartered in San Diego, while many biotech companies, such as BD Biosciences, Biogen Idec, Merk and Pfizer have offices or research facilities in San Diego. There are several non-profit biotech institutes, such as the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, the Scripps Research Institute and the Burnham Institute. The presence of University of California, San Diego and other research institutions helped fuel biotechnology growth. In June 2004, San Diego was ranked the top biotech cluster in the U.S. by the Milken Institute.

National defense is a major employer in the city and the region as a whole due to a large presence of military installations. Tourism is also a major industry owing to the city's climate and other major attractions. Major tourist destinations include the San Diego Zoo and its sister park, the Wild Animal Park, Seaworld San Diego, Balboa Park and the city's numerous beaches.

San Diego is also home to companies that develop wireless cellular technology. Qualcomm Incorporated was founded and is headquartered in San Diego; Qualcomm is the largest private-sector technology employer (excluding hospitals) in the United States. Other companies also have research and development labs in San Diego, principally focused on cloning Qualcomm's CDMA cellular technology.

The economy of San Diego is also influenced by its port, which includes the only major submarine and shipbuilding yard on the West Coast, as well as the naval base.

Education

According to education rankings released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 40.4 percent of San Diegans ages 25 and older hold bachelor's degrees. The census ranks the city as the ninth smartest city in the United States based on these figures.[1]

Primary and secondary schools

See also: List of high schools in San Diego, California

The San Diego Unified School District, also known as San Diego City Schools, is the school district that serves the majority of the city, it includes 113 elementary schools, 23 middle schools, 4 atypical schools, 10 alternative schools, 27 high schools and 25 charter schools. In the northern part of the city, Poway Unified School District and San Dieguito Union High School District are districts outside city limits, but serve several schools within city limits. In the southern part of the city, Sweetwater Union High School District serves multiple schools within city limits, although it is headquartered outside city limits.

Colleges and universities

• Private
  • Alliant International University (AIU) (formerly United States International University-USIU)
  • Design Institute of San Diego (DISD) [2]
  • John Paul the Great Catholic University
  • National University
  • NewSchool of Architecture and Design
  • Pacific Oaks College
  • Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) (Nazarene)
  • University of San Diego (USD) (Roman Catholic)
• Public
  • California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) (California State University system)
  • Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District (Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College)
  • San Diego Community College District (San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College and San Diego Miramar College)
  • San Diego State University (SDSU) (California State University system)
  • University of California, San Diego (UCSD) (University of California system)

Accredited law schools

• California Western School of Law
• Thomas Jefferson School of Law
• University of San Diego School of Law

Culture

Main article: Culture of San Diego

See also: List of museums in San Diego

The Museum of Man is one of several museums in Balboa Park.

Many popular museums, such as the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Museum of Man, and the Museum of Photographic Arts are located Balboa Park. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is located in an ocean front building in La Jolla and has a branch located at the Santa Fe Depot downtown. The Maritime Museum in the Colombia district downtown exhibits historic ships.

San Diego has a small, but growing art scene. "Kettner Nights" at the Art and Design District in Little Italy has art and design exhibitions throughout many retail design stores and galleries on selected Friday nights. "Ray at Night" at North Park host a variety of small scale art galleries on the second Saturday evening of each month. La Jolla and nearby Solana Beach also have a variety of art galleries.

The San Diego Symphony at Symphony Towers performs on a regular basis and is directed by Jahja Ling. The San Diego Opera at Civic Center Plaza was ranked by Opera America as one of the top 10 opera companies in the United States. Old Globe Theatre at Balboa Park produces about 15 plays and musicals annually. The La Jolla Playhouse at UCSD is directed by a two-time Tony Award-winner Des McAnuff. The Joan B. Kroc Theatre at Kroc Center's Performing Arts Centeris is a 600-seat state-of-the-art theatre that hosts music, dance and theatre performances. The San Diego Repertory Theatre at the Lyceum Theatres in Horton Plaza produces a variety of plays and musicals. Serving the northeastern part of San Diego is the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, a 400-seat performing arts theater.

Tourism has affected the city's culture, as San Diego houses many tourist attractions, such as Seaworld, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Wild Animal Park, and nearby Legoland. San Diego's Spanish influence can be seen in the many historic sites across the city, such as the Spanish missions and Balboa Park. Cusine is San Diego is diverse, but there is an abundance of wood fired California-style pizzas, and Mexican and East Asian cuisine. Annal events in San Diego include Comic-Con, San Diego/Del Mar Fair, and Street Scene Music Festival.

San Diego has a fairly large gay population and gay culture. The annual Gay Pride Parade usually draws crowds in excess of 100,000 people. Accoding to U.S. Census data from the year 2000, San Diego had a gay index of 186 (gay male index of 226 and a lesbian index of 144); the national average gay index is 100. San Diego has the largest gay index in Southern California, surpassing Los Angeles (168).Most of the gay community, including the LGBT center and every gay bar in San Diego is located in Hillcrest.

Sports

Club	Sport	League	Stadium
San Diego Padres	Baseball	MLB (National League)	PETCO Park
San Diego Chargers	American Football	AFL 1961-1969, NFL 1970-Present	Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego Fusion	Soccer	NPSL	Helix High School
San Diego Gauchos	Soccer	USL	Southwestern College
San Diego Surf Dawgs	Baseball	Golden Baseball League	Tony Gwynn Stadium
So Cal Scorpions	American Football	WPFL	Edward's Stadium
San Diego Siege	Basketball	National Women's Basketball League	Harry West Gym
San Diego Wildcats	Basketball	ABA	TBA
San Diego Riptide	American Football	Arena Football League	iPayOne Center
San Diego Sockers	Indoor Soccer	MISL	iPayOne Center

San Diego has several sports venues. Qualcomm Stadium hosts football and soccer games. Three Super Bowls have been held there. Baseball can be seen at PETCO Park and Tony Gwynn Stadium. iPayOne Center, formerly the San Diego Sports Arena, hosts basketball, which is also hosted at Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl. Jenny Craig Pavilion at the University of San Diego hosts basketball and volleyball games.

SDSU Aztecs (MWC) and the USD Toreros (WCC) are NCAA Division I teams. The UCSD Tritons (CCAA) are members of the NCAA Division II while the PLNU Sea Lions (GSAC) are members of the NAIA.

San Diego has been the home of two NBA franchises, the first of which was called the San Diego Rockets. The Rockets represented the city of San Diego from 1967 until 1971. After the conclusion of the 1970-1971 season, they moved to Texas where they became the Houston Rockets. Seven years later, San Diego received a relocated NBA franchise (the Buffalo Braves), which was re-named the San Diego Clippers. The Clippers played in the San Diego Sports Arena from 1978 until 1984. Prior to the start of the 1984-1985 season, the team was moved to Los Angeles, and is now called the Los Angeles Clippers.

Unfortunately, San Diego has the honor (or shame) to be the largest United States city to have not won a Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals or any other Major League sports championship.

Other sports franchises that represented San Diego include the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association, the San Diego Sockers (which played in various indoor and outdoor soccer leagues during their existence), the San Diego Spirit of the Women's United Soccer Association, the San Diego Mariners of the World Hockey Association, and the San Diego Gulls who were in different hockey leagues during each of their three incarnations.

The annual Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in the city draws 20,000 participants annually.

The city's biggest sporting event on the world stage, however, is in a sport that draws very little attention in the United States. Beginning in 2007, PETCO Park will host the USA Sevens, an event in the annual IRB Sevens World Series for international teams in rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union with seven players per side instead of 15.

Media

See also: List of fiction set in San Diego

San Diego is served by the mainstream daily newspaper, The San Diego Union-Tribune and its online portal, signonsandiego.com, the online newspaper Voiceofsandiego.org, and the alternative newsweeklies, the San Diego City Beat and San Diego Reader. Another newspaper with high readership in the region is the North County Times, which serves San Diego's North County area. Business publications include San Diego Metropolitan magazine, San Diego Business Journal and San Diego Daily Transcript.

San Diego's television stations include XETV-TV 6 (FOX), KFMB 8 (CBS), KGTV 10 (ABC), KPBS 15 (PBS), KBNT 17 (Univision), XHAS-TV 33 (Telemundo), K35DG 35 (UCSD-TV), KNSD 39 (NBC), XHDTV-TV 49 (MNTV), KUSI 51 (Independent), and KSWB 69 (CW).

The radio station skyline in San Diego is predominantly headed by nationwide broadcaster, Clear Channel Communications, followed up by CBS Radio, Midwest Television, Lincoln Financial Media, Finest City Broadcasting, and many other smaller stations and networks. Stations include KFSD 1450 AM,KCEO AM 1000, KPBS 89.5, Z 90.3, 91X, Magic 92.5, Channel 933, Star 94.1, FM 94/9, KyXy 96.5, KSON 97.3/92.1, KIFM 98.1, Jack-FM 100.7, 101.5 KGB-FM, KPRI 102.1, Rock 105.3, and a number of popular local Spanish language radio stations.

Transportation

Freeways and highways

As the automobile is the primary means of transportation for the region, the greater San Diego area is served by an extensive network of freeways and highways. This includes Interstates 5, which runs north to Orange County and south to Mexico; 8, which runs east to Imperial County and Arizona; 15, which runs north to Riverside County; and 805, which splits from I-5 at Sorrento Valley and rejoins it before the Mexican border. Notable state highways are the 54 in the South Bay; the 125, 94, and 67 in the East County; the 56 and 78 in the North County; the 52 (La Jolla-Santee); and the 163 (Downtown-Miramar). The San Diego-Coronado Bridge, which spans San Diego Bay, is signed as part of California State Route 75.

Several regional transportation projects have been undertaken in recent years to deal with increasing congestion problems on San Diego freeways. This includes a massive expansion of Interstates 5 and 805 around "The Merge," a notorious rush-hour spot where the two freeways meet. Also, an expansion of Interstate 15 through the North County is underway with the concept of high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) "managed lanes" in the freeway median. A tollway (The South Bay Expressway) linking State Route 54 and Otay Mesa, near the Mexican border, is also under construction and is expected to open in 2007.

Public mass transportation

See also: Public transportation in San Diego County, California

File:San Diego Green Line SDSU.jpg

San Diego Trolley at San Diego State University (SDSU)

Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner at the Old Town Station

The Old Town trolley

San Diego has trolley, bus [3], Coaster [4], and Amtrak service. They primarily serve downtown, the surrounding urban communities and Mission Valley. A newly expanded Trolley route alongside Interstate 8 including a new underground stop at San Diego State University opened in 2005 connects Downtown San Diego with Santee. A planned trolley extension along the 5 Freeway will link Downtown with the University City-Golden Triangle and UCSD areas.

The Amtrak and Coaster trains currently run along the coastline, and connect with MetroLink trains which go further inland to the east and north. More Coaster train stops and services will be added in 2007 and beyond. New inland SPRINTER (which will connect directly with the current Coaster and Amtrak systems) service begins in 2008.

The bus is available along almost all major routes within the city proper, although they tend to be concentrated in downtown, various transit centers and the transit corridors of El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue. Typical wait times vary from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the location and route. Trollies arrive every 5 to 15 minutes (depending on time of day), with lines extending from Old Town all the way south to the US-Mexico border in San Ysidro, and west-east from Old Town, traversing Mission Valley all the way to neighboring El Cajon and Santee. Ferries are also available every half hour crossing San Diego Bay to Coronado.

Cycling

San Diego's roadway system provides an extensive network of routes for travel by bicycle. The dry and mild climate of San Diego makes cycling a convenient and pleasant year-round option although the city's hilly terrain and canyons somewhat restrict practical use -- a vast majority of cycling related activities are recreational.

Because of these factors and the significantly long average trip distances brought about by the city's growth restricted from high density development due to strict low density zoning laws, while recreational cycling is enjoyable, cycling for utilitarian purposes in San Diego requires stamina. Older and denser neighborhoods around the downtown tend to be friendlier 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.

The city has some segregated cycle facilities, particularly in newer developments although the majority of road facilities specifically for bicycles are painted on regular roadways.

Many San Diego cyclists belong to the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition which upholds the rights and interests of cyclists throughout the county.

Air

San Diego International Airport, also known as Lindbergh International Airport or Lindbergh Field, is the primary commercial airport serving San Diego. It is the busiest single-runway airport in the nation, serving over 17 million passengers every year, and is located on San Diego Bay just a mile or two from downtown. It has scheduled services all over the USA, Mexico, Hawaii, and Canada and serves as a focus city for Southwest Airlines. Other airports include Brown Field Municipal Airport (Brown Field) and Montgomery Field Municipal Airport (Montgomery Field). There is currently debate regarding the placement of a new international airport. While an advisory committee is pushing for the current site of the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, the military says it has no intention of giving up that site. A vote on the issue took place on November 7, 2006 against Proposition A, in which voters rejected the proposal to move the airport Miramar.[5] The military has rejected the proposals for a dual-use airport because the area around Miramar has already been set aside as safety corridors for military aircraft accidents. A shared commercial/military airport would force military aircraft to fly outside of those safety corridors.

Sea

File:Dock 1 bg 120702.jpg

A dock in San Diego Bay.
In the distance you can see North Island Naval Air Station.

The Port of San Diego manages the maritime operations of San Diego harbor. Cruise ships arrive and depart from San Diego's cruise ship terminal at the foot of Broadway downtown. Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, and Celebrity home port cruise ships in San Diego for the Winter season. Cruises go to Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska and the Caribbean via the Panama Canal. San Diego's port also manages a significant cargo operation which includes imports from South America, vehicle imports from Germany, Japan and Mexico, and other trade operations.

San Diego is home to General Dynamics' National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), the largest shipyard on the West Coast of the United States. It is capable of building and repairing large ocean-going vessels. The yard constructs commercial cargo ships and auxiliary vessels for the U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command, which it has served since 1960.

Military

Military bases in or near San Diego include U.S. Navy ports, Marine Corps bases, and Coast Guard stations. One of the Marine Corps' two Recruit Depots is located in San Diego. San Diego is also known as the "birthplace of naval aviation," although Pensacola, Florida makes a rival claim.

San Diego is the site of the largest naval fleet in the world, and San Diego has become the largest concentration of Naval facilities in the world because of reductions at the Norfolk, Virginia basing facilities and the retrenchment in the Russian naval base at Vladivostok. San Diego has the largest concentration of Naval facilities in the world, with two of the US Navy's Nimitz class supercarriers, (the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan), five amphibious assault ships, several Los Angeles-class "fast attack" submarines, carrier and submarine tenders, and many smaller ships home-ported there. Four Navy vessels have been named USS San Diego in honor of the city.

Military institutions in or near San Diego

• Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation
• Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
• Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
• Naval Base Point Loma
• Naval Station San Diego (Also known as 32nd Street Naval Station)
• Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego
• Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton
• Naval Base Coronado (NAS North Island and NAB Coronado are consolidated into Naval Base Coronado)

• Naval Air Station North Island (Operates NALF San Clemente Island & OLF Imperial Beach)

• Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility San Clemente Island
• Outlying Field Imperial Beach

• Naval Amphibious Base Coronado

Sister cities

San Diego has fifteen sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

• Alcalá de Henares (Spain)
• Campinas (Brazil)
• Cavite City (Philippines)
• Edinburgh (Scotland)
• Jalalabad (Afghanistan)
• Jeonju (South Korea)
• León (Mexico)
• Perth (Australia)
• Taichung City (Taiwan)
• Tema (Ghana)
• Tijuana (Mexico)
• Vladivostok (Russia)
• Warsaw (Poland)
• Yantai (China)
• Yokohama (Japan)

See also

• List of notable San Diegans
• San Diego Harbor Police
• San Diego/Tijuana megalopolis

External links

• City of San Diego Official Website
• San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, includes Hotel and Visitor Information
• San Diego Regional Economic Development - non-profit coorporation that receives funding from local governments to develop local economic and business growth
• Port of San Diego
• San Diego International Airport
• Census Bureau Fact Sheet
• USGS Data
• San Diego Public Library Website
• San Diego History, San Diego Historical Society
• Template:Wikitravelpar

References

1. ^ | County of San Diego

1. ^ | Infoplease - Top 50 Cities in the U.S. by Population

1. ^ | CityTown Info- San Diego

1. ^ | City of San Diego City of Villages Program General Outline

1. ^ | Awards won by the developers of the Uptown District in Hillcrest.