The History of Housing In San Diego
John Nolen’ City Plan
“San Diego has the location and the physical foundation in general for an important, perhaps a great city. Its people are awake to its needs, and are resolved to meet them. It stands, therefore, upon the threshold of a truly sound and far-reaching development; for, when to superb natural advantages and human enterprise are added a sound public policy and a comprehensive plan of action, who can doubt the outcome?[1]” Those were the optimistic words of John Nolen- a city planner and landscape architect- regarding planning the city of San Diego in 1908. Nolen vision for San Diego’s planning future was divided into two plans.
First Plan 1908
In Nolen’s time, San Diego mostly was blank urban canvas. Its downtown was a small area of retail lay around Fifth and Broadway. Furthermore, Nolen’s plan would cover set of guiding principles that aimed to establish a civic center of downtown public buildings, parks and open places, casino, art museum, waterfronts, playgrounds and a bayfront with promenades and public amenities, which in fact, all of them recommendations are now in existence. Moreover, Nolen’s main goal was building a city that would focus on the capitalization of its many natural assets and beautiful climate.
Second Plan 1926
The rapid expansion of and settlement of U.S Navy and U.S. Marine Corps in San Diego made it evident that San Diego needed a comprehensive plan. And, that’s when Nolen’s second plan came in place in 1926[2]. The plan had many goals such as the 11-mile drive that would range from the southern border of the city to the U.S. Naval at Point Loma. Also, civic buildings that would be located between the bay and Pacific Avenue, an airport, parkways, that would connect to Balboa Park. In addition, Nolen proposed an Old Town for historic restoration, and improvement for traffic connections from north to south of the city. However, many opposed Nolen’s 1926 unlike 1908 plan because the lack of consideration for affordable housing or housing in general. After all, San Diego planning roots mostly belongs or based on Nolen’s recommendations and visions.
San Diego Planning Roots
City officials and community leaders started the planning process from Nolen’s earlier work, despite the fact that many did undermine the significance of Nolen’s study for San Diego’s future city plan. A decade later, Nolen’s planning skill would be tapped again when San Diego officials decided to pay the Boston consultant $10,000 to draft a plan for the city, harbor and parks[3]. The plan was completed in 1926, and it has become the foundation of urban design and recognized officially as the City’s planning process. After the planning department was formed, Kenneth Gardner was Nolen’s first planning director.
Through the Depression period, the rough economic times did not affect San Diego. City leaders staged California Pacific Exposition of 1935-36. That was a follow-up to Panama-California Exposition of 1915-16, which left Balboa Park with its historic Spanish-Moroccan style architecture on the park’s Prado. Along the downtown waterfront, a new civic center was built, a Works Project Administration project that remains a handsome jewel on the bay[4].
In 1931, San Diego city planning process entered its tranquil and progressive era when voters approved a new council that allows the planning department to work separately from the City Manager.
John Nolen’ City Plan
“San Diego has the location and the physical foundation in general for an important, perhaps a great city. Its people are awake to its needs, and are resolved to meet them. It stands, therefore, upon the threshold of a truly sound and far-reaching development; for, when to superb natural advantages and human enterprise are added a sound public policy and a comprehensive plan of action, who can doubt the outcome?[1]” Those were the optimistic words of John Nolen- a city planner and landscape architect- regarding planning the city of San Diego in 1908. Nolen vision for San Diego’s planning future was divided into two plans.
First Plan 1908
In Nolen’s time, San Diego mostly was blank urban canvas. Its downtown was a small area of retail lay around Fifth and Broadway. Furthermore, Nolen’s plan would cover set of guiding principles that aimed to establish a civic center of downtown public buildings, parks and open places, casino, art museum, waterfronts, playgrounds and a bayfront with promenades and public amenities, which in fact, all of them recommendations are now in existence. Moreover, Nolen’s main goal was building a city that would focus on the capitalization of its many natural assets and beautiful climate.
Second Plan 1926
The rapid expansion of and settlement of U.S Navy and U.S. Marine Corps in San Diego made it evident that San Diego needed a comprehensive plan. And, that’s when Nolen’s second plan came in place in 1926[2]. The plan had many goals such as the 11-mile drive that would range from the southern border of the city to the U.S. Naval at Point Loma. Also, civic buildings that would be located between the bay and Pacific Avenue, an airport, parkways, that would connect to Balboa Park. In addition, Nolen proposed an Old Town for historic restoration, and improvement for traffic connections from north to south of the city. However, many opposed Nolen’s 1926 unlike 1908 plan because the lack of consideration for affordable housing or housing in general. After all, San Diego planning roots mostly belongs or based on Nolen’s recommendations and visions.
San Diego Planning Roots
City officials and community leaders started the planning process from Nolen’s earlier work, despite the fact that many did undermine the significance of Nolen’s study for San Diego’s future city plan. A decade later, Nolen’s planning skill would be tapped again when San Diego officials decided to pay the Boston consultant $10,000 to draft a plan for the city, harbor and parks[3]. The plan was completed in 1926, and it has become the foundation of urban design and recognized officially as the City’s planning process. After the planning department was formed, Kenneth Gardner was Nolen’s first planning director.
Through the Depression period, the rough economic times did not affect San Diego. City leaders staged California Pacific Exposition of 1935-36. That was a follow-up to Panama-California Exposition of 1915-16, which left Balboa Park with its historic Spanish-Moroccan style architecture on the park’s Prado. Along the downtown waterfront, a new civic center was built, a Works Project Administration project that remains a handsome jewel on the bay[4].
In 1931, San Diego city planning process entered its tranquil and progressive era when voters approved a new council that allows the planning department to work separately from the City Manager.
World War II and the History of Public Housing
The history of public housing in San Diego was created by shift of air-force defense and military from the East Coast to the West Cost-San Diego. Late 1940, San Diego became the air defense capital of the west. Workers and their families including immigrants and minorities started pouring into San Diego with a rate of 1,500 per week.[1] The population of San Diego had increased more 50% in two years. Due to the extreme lack of housing, especially affordable housing, workers and their families were sleeping in cars, abandoned cars on the street, garages, cinemas, and tents. These poor living conditions of those workers and their families started to impact the productivity of defense workers. In addition to the workers productivity, the living situation of those workers attracted the media-Radio, magazines, and newspaper- and the whole country’s attention; hence, the federal government intervened despite the objections of city officials. San Diego city officials opposed the idea of constructing affordable housing concerning the accelerating of immigrant’s population and turning the city into a military city instead of a city of that attracts tourists, businesses, real states, and investors. However, after the first intervention of federal government, Lanham Defense Housing Act of 1940 was initiated for public housing. The first and largest public housing project in world was in Linda Vista.
Linda Vista Housing Project
The first and largest single defense low-income housing development in the world. The occupancy of this project was 13,000. On about 1240 acres was the size of this project, and was built in the southwestern part of Kearny Mesa and north Mission Valley. Notwithstanding the great step of building all those units, public transportation, water pipelines, schools, and health clinics were another challenge for this project and many public housing projects that followed Linda Vista. Nevertheless, public housing era in San Diego started after Linda Vista Housing Project’ establishment.
Linda Vista Housing Project
The first and largest single defense low-income housing development in the world. The occupancy of this project was 13,000. On about 1240 acres was the size of this project, and was built in the southwestern part of Kearny Mesa and north Mission Valley. Notwithstanding the great step of building all those units, public transportation, water pipelines, schools, and health clinics were another challenge for this project and many public housing projects that followed Linda Vista. Nevertheless, public housing era in San Diego started after Linda Vista Housing Project’ establishment.
After World War II
After the World War II, San Diego’ future changed for good. San Diego turned to be a center of busy military bases and a prime defense location that shifted from New York, Buffalo because its climate and strategic location. Early 1950s, San Diego started to fill with homes, highways, factories, and Mission Valley turned to look like a second downtown. As the rapid growth continues, coastline to mesas and canyons started to fill with houses raised environmentalists concerns and that cause to argue for more protections. Thru 1970s, the California Coastal Commission was established to protect the coastline and argue development for costal communities that include San Diego. San Diego passed a bond measure to raise money to secure open space, in 1978.
The brisk growth during 1950s and 1960s established the Landmarks to San Diego- Sea World, Mission Bay Park, a stadium, a sports arena, Civic Theater, and a City Hall.
San Diego Housing Challenges
Housing Affordability Crisis
San Diego has experienced a dramatic increase in housing prices prior 2006 that caused housing affordability crisis, which pushed many median households to move out to different cities. Due to the fact that the ratio of median house price to median household income was one of the worst in the United States, significant number of migrants moved to Riverside County. During the period of 1998 and 2007, the median single family home tripled. According to the California Association of Realtors, in 2007 the median house in San Diego cost $612,370[1]. And that caused the rent to shoot up high. Hence, the government established affordable housing program for the reason of helping law-income families stay in San Diego.
Affordable Housing Programs
This is the main challenge that San Diego is facing. Therefore, San Diego Housing Commission is an active and innovative developer of new affordable housing. It owns 2,136 affordable housing units and is rapidly moving forward on buying additional multifamily properties. The agency’s hallmark has been its ability to foster affordable housing projects by forging partnership both with the City of San Diego's redevelopment agencies and non-profit/for-profit developers[1]. Yet, those government programs are still not enough. Affordable housing in San Diego is very limited and always gets challenged by private real estate sectors that main purpose is to make high profits. Along with affordable housing, the government created Rental Assistance program that provide rent subsidies to San Diegans with low-incomes.
San Diego Housing Commission Rental Assistance
With a budget of more than $320 million in fiscal year 2012, Rental Assistance is the San Diego Housing Commission’s (SDHC) largest department. SDHC is the public housing authority and It administers the federally supported Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), which provides rent subsidies for about 14,000 San Diego households. Within this department is the Workforce & Economic Development division, which is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by helping housing-assisted families become economically self-sufficient[2].
Notes:
[1] San Diego, a comprehensive plan for its improvement
[2] http://www.balboaparkhistory.net/glimpses/nolen.pdf
[3] http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/pdf/cow/planninghistory.pdf
[4] Ibid
[5] http://www.lindavista.org/index.php/library/the-history-of-linda-vista
[6]http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/90winter/sdincimages.htm
[7] Ibid
[8]http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070625005991&newsLang=en
[9] http://www.sdhc.net/Affordable-Housing/
[10] http://www.sdhc.net/Rental-Assistance/
San Diego has experienced a dramatic increase in housing prices prior 2006 that caused housing affordability crisis, which pushed many median households to move out to different cities. Due to the fact that the ratio of median house price to median household income was one of the worst in the United States, significant number of migrants moved to Riverside County. During the period of 1998 and 2007, the median single family home tripled. According to the California Association of Realtors, in 2007 the median house in San Diego cost $612,370[1]. And that caused the rent to shoot up high. Hence, the government established affordable housing program for the reason of helping law-income families stay in San Diego.
Affordable Housing Programs
This is the main challenge that San Diego is facing. Therefore, San Diego Housing Commission is an active and innovative developer of new affordable housing. It owns 2,136 affordable housing units and is rapidly moving forward on buying additional multifamily properties. The agency’s hallmark has been its ability to foster affordable housing projects by forging partnership both with the City of San Diego's redevelopment agencies and non-profit/for-profit developers[1]. Yet, those government programs are still not enough. Affordable housing in San Diego is very limited and always gets challenged by private real estate sectors that main purpose is to make high profits. Along with affordable housing, the government created Rental Assistance program that provide rent subsidies to San Diegans with low-incomes.
San Diego Housing Commission Rental Assistance
With a budget of more than $320 million in fiscal year 2012, Rental Assistance is the San Diego Housing Commission’s (SDHC) largest department. SDHC is the public housing authority and It administers the federally supported Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), which provides rent subsidies for about 14,000 San Diego households. Within this department is the Workforce & Economic Development division, which is dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty by helping housing-assisted families become economically self-sufficient[2].
Notes:
[1] San Diego, a comprehensive plan for its improvement
[2] http://www.balboaparkhistory.net/glimpses/nolen.pdf
[3] http://www.sandiego.gov/planning/community/pdf/cow/planninghistory.pdf
[4] Ibid
[5] http://www.lindavista.org/index.php/library/the-history-of-linda-vista
[6]http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/90winter/sdincimages.htm
[7] Ibid
[8]http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070625005991&newsLang=en
[9] http://www.sdhc.net/Affordable-Housing/
[10] http://www.sdhc.net/Rental-Assistance/