City Heights, San Diego
City Heights is a large community in the eastern part of San Diego known for its ethnic diversity. Along the main streets (which include University Avenue, El Cajon Boulevard and Fairmount Avenue) one can find Hispanic, East African, African American, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian businesses. Although the area is notorious for gang violence and drug vending there is also a substantial amount of culture and history within the neighorhood.
Geographically, City Heights is large and diffuse, with many subneighborhoods. The city officially recognizes two neighborhoods which are collectively known as "City Heights;" City Heights East and City Heights West. The street pattern is mainly grid pattern, which has some interesting consequences near some of the fault lines and canyons in the neighborhood. City Heights West is bounded roughly by 805 freeway to the west and 43rd Street to the east. City Heights East is bounded by 40th Street to the west and 54th Street to the east. Both are bounded by El Cajon Boulevard to the north, and roughly by Home Avenue to the south.
"Downtown" City Heights is generally regarded around Fairmount Avenue and 43rd St.
The following are the subneighborhoods collectively known as City Heights: Corridor, Teralta West, Teralta East, Colina Park, Cherokee Point, Castle, Fairmount Village, Fox Canyon, Chollas Creek, Islenair, Swan Canyon, Azalea Park, Hollywood Park, Ridgeview, Fairmont Park and Baybridge.
Socially and economically, City Heights has a high concentration of lower income businesses and households, resulting from the newly arrived immigrant communities. Businesses tend to be smaller and wider spread than to the north and east. Pedestrianism is high relative to the rest of San Diego. Crime rates were quite high until the recent renaissance, which ushered in one of the highest concentrations of police presence in the city.
Students from City Heights generally attend Hoover High School in Talmadge or Crawford High School in El Cerrito as well as Clark Middle School.
History
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Renaissance
As with other older neighborhoods found just north of Downtown San Diego and Balboa Park, City Heights is currently enjoying a renaissance.
Interestingly, the presence of relatively high instances of crime and the depressed economy in the neighborhood was the catalyst for recent redevelopments in the area. The local projects are a major focus of the Smart Growth strategy by the City of San Diego, which is aided and funded in part by private organizations and philantrophic individuals, notably Sol Price (founder of Fedmart and Price Club).
These projects focus primarily on education, crime and gang-related activity reduction, economic improvements, smart urban growth, renewal of community pride and improvement of overall quality of life, while at the same time enhancing the "melting-pot" identity for which City Heights is known.
Recent projects that have been completed include the very first alternative fuel station in the city, a new retail complex with some mixed-use developments, several newly expanded and improved basic education schools, a new "urban village" that boasts a newly improved library, a new police headquarter and a gymnasium, and a number of innovative uses of open spaces as parks. Arts and architecture were also not overlooked, evident in the new buildings, aiming to give the neighborhood its own identity.
As a result of the improvements, population in the neighborhood has been on the increase, reversing the trend of urban flight for those who could afford to move just a few years prior. Indeed, the redevelopment is now starting to focus on controlling growth.
A few trendy bars and clubs have also started to move into the neighborhood, a sign some would argue, that gentrification is also happening.