San Diego
A coastal Southern California City located in the southwest corner of the United States, San Diego lies along the border the country shares with Mexico. Affectionately called “America’s Finest City,” it has a land area of 324.3 square miles and a population of 1,305,736, 2nd largest in the State of California and 8th largest in the whole United States. It is situated in a very diverse land, with mountains rising to the east of the city; beyond the mountains are desert areas; numerous farms along the valleys of the northeast; vast forests in the southeast; and deep canyons separating its mesas, creating small pockets of parkland scattered throughout.
San Diego is a city rich in historical heritage, which began in 1542. During that time, the present day location of San Diego was claimed for Spain by Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and was originally named San Miguel. During the feast of San Diego on November 12, 1602, Don Sebastian di Vizcaino came along the shore, celebrated mass in the saint’s honor, and renamed the place San Diego. The town became an incorporated city of California in 1885.
During the period between World War II and the Cold War, the military industry played a major role in San Diego’s local economy. However, after the end of the Cold War and subsequent cutbacks in defense and aerospace funds, the city relied in diversification to keep its economy afloat. At present, the city’s economy is anchored among the industries of tourism, trade, agriculture, ship building, military, biotechnology, computer science, telecommunications, and electronics. The city is home to one of two Marine Corps Recruit Depot and the home port of the largest naval fleet in the world, including 2 US Navy supercarriers (USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan). It is ranked number 1 biotechnology cluster in the US by the Milken Institute on June 2004. The city has also been named as 1 of the 6 centers of innovation, with its telecommunications industry being among the fastest growing in the US and has earned the title “wireless communications capital of the world.” The sound economic situation in San Diego could best be reflected in its very low unemployment, which was almost impossible to achieve immediately after the end of the Cold War.
San Diego has also experienced a steadily declining crime rate since the 1990s. It is the 6th safest US City among those with a population of over 500,000.
The city’s year-round mild, sunny weather has helped it attract a vast number of tourists annually. Its downtown has been enjoying an urban redevelopment since the 1980s as a result of its booming tourism. It began with the opening of the Horton Plaza, the revival of the Gaslamp Quarter, and the construction of the San Diego Convention Center. Downtown San Diego is now filled with skyscrapers, loft developments, five star hotels, and a large number of shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and shops. Other popular attractions in the City of San Diego include, among others: Balboa Park, Cabrillo National Monument, Hill Crest, La Casa de Estudillo, La Jolla, Legoland Carlsbad, Air Station Miramar and the Miramar Air Show, Mission Bay, Mission Beach Roller Coaster, Mission San Diego de Alcala, Mount Soledad, Old Globe Theater, Old Mission dam, Old Town, Pacific Beach, Petco Park, Presidio of San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego Aerospace Museum, San Diego Chinese Historical Museum, San Diego Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, Seaport Village, Sea World, Star of India, USS Midway aircraft carrier-museum, and many more.