City Profiles / Large Cities / San Diego, CA

San Diego, California

San Diego has gained a reputation as one of California's most sprawling cities but it's a reputation the city government is working to shed. By using "smart growth" principles—which encourage compact, transit-oriented, mixed-use development—San Diego is seeking to meet the needs of its expanding population without pushing the city limits ever farther out. At the same time, smart growth planning within the city limits works to preserve parks and open spaces, which makes up almost a quarter of the city's land area. Among its many hills and crests rest pockets of natural parkland, and San Diego boasts one of America's oldest parks: Balboa Park, home of the San Diego Zoo and 15 major museums. Balboa's 1,200 shady acres link the uptown and downtown communities, providing residents ready access to nature.

A major component of the city's smart growth strategy is the redevelopment of downtown San Diego, which is served extensively by transit and since 1975 has seen nearly $438 million of new public infrastructure and 14,800 new homes (2,650 of which are price-restricted). In 2008, the city incorporated the City of Villages smart-growth strategy into its updated General Plan to increase density near transit centers and to preserve open spaces. Although the Pilot Village program—an attempt to create sustainable communities linked by transit within the city—has been met with funding and organizational challenges, the program is continuing and has shown two successful examples of infill development: the Village Center at Euclid and Market, which is at the intersection of four neighborhoods and on a trolley and transit station, and the North Park Pilot Village, a revival of a historic section of downtown with high-frequency bus transit.