Chapter 3: Foundations of Human Activity

The stereotypical image of the blond haired, blue eyed native Californian is well ingrained into the minds of foreigners and many Americans who have never experienced our state first-hand.  San Diego, a certified beach town, is no exception to this common assumption.  In all actuality, San Diego is a city rich in ethnic diversity which adds an electric feel to the atmosphere.

"Typical Californians"

Settlement history:

Before California was officially California, it was inhabited by Native Americans over 10,000 years ago.  These first inhabitants were prominently hunter-gatherers and lived in small tribes widely dispersed over a large area.  The Spanish were the first European based explores to "discover" California in the mid 1550s.  California became part of Spain's North American holdings and over the course of several years Spain built several missions along the west coast spanning from San Diego to Sonoma.  In 1769, the Presidio of San Diego was established  and around that same time Mission San Diego de Alcala was founded.  During the late 1700s, the once thriving Native American population began to dwindle due to the ravaging effects of European disease.  California was seized by the United States in 1846 and officially became a state in 1850.  The city of San Diego became incorporated into California soon after but did not experience a large population boom until 1890.  A strong military presence soon began in 1901 and hosted two World's Fairs in 1915 and 1935.  This leads us to the modern day San Diego that we have all come to know and love.

San Diego Mission de Alcala

Modern Day San Diego:
San Diego currently ranks as the second most populous city in all of California.  In 2009, the population of San Diego was approximated to be 1,353,993 by the US Census Bureau and is expected to continue to increase in the coming years(City of San Diego Demographics).  San Diego's residents make up about 43% of the total population of San Diego County.  It is also the economic center of San Diego county and constitutes for over half of the county's jobs and three-quarters of the regions large employers.  According to Figure 3.3 in the text, San Diego boasts 300-2,999 people per square mile by county (53).

Recent Statistics (As of 2009) according to City-Data.com

• 50.4% Males and 49.6% Females 
• Median age of a San Diego resident is 32.5 while the average age of a Californian is 33.3. 
• Estimated median family income: $59,901
• Median price of a household: $445,500
• Ancestries: German (10.8%), Irish (8.7%), English (8.0%), Italian (4.6%), United States (3.2%), French (2.4%) 

Breakdown by Race

• White- 615,495 (47.1%)
• Hispanic - 373,573 (28.6%)  
• Asian alone - 185,716 (14.2%)
• Black alone - 82,885 (6.3%)
• Two or more races - 36,242 (2.8%)
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone - 7,220 (0.6%)
• American alone - 2,383 (0.2%)Other race alone - 2,713 (0.2%)
 

Distribution of Races in San Diego