Central San Diego - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Central San Diego is an urban region in San Diego, California

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

. It comprises the core urban neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park

Balboa Park (San Diego)

Balboa Park is a urban cultural park in San Diego, California. The park is named after the Spanish maritime explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa...

and Downtown San Diego. Its boundaries include Mission Valley to the north, Interstate 15 to the east, San Diego Bay

San Diego Bay

San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port adjacent to San Diego, California. It is 12 mi/19 km long, 1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide...

and San Diego International Airport

San Diego International Airport

San Diego International Airport , sometimes referred to as Lindbergh Field, is a public airport located northwest of the central business district of San Diego, California and from the Mexico – United States border at Tijuana, Mexico...

to the west, and Naval Base San Diego to the south.

Definition

For administrative purposes, the city of San Diego sometimes defines Central San Diego as the region comprising the neighborhoods surrounding the southern half of Balboa Park, based on neighborhood policing and community service areas. However this definition is arbitrary in terms of urban design, culture and demographics. In practical terms, Central San Diego includes all of the region surrounding Balboa Park de facto

De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

because of these individual neighborhoods' longstanding commercial ties, shared culture, and architectural and historical similarities.

Characteristics

Downtown San Diego's first suburbs began appearing in the late 19th century, including South Park and Golden Hill in 1870 and North Park in 1893. Balboa Park's site was placed in reserve in 1835 and is one of the oldest sites in the United States dedicated to public recreational use. The neighborhoods along the southern and western sides of Balboa Park include many Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

buildings dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several of which are on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. The neighborhoods along the northern and eastern sides of Balboa Park include many Craftsman

American Craftsman

The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...

buildings dating from the early 1900s. Likewise, many of these structures are also listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Much of Central San Diego was originally served by the historic San Diego Class 1 Streetcars

San Diego Class 1 Streetcars

The San Diego Class 1 Streetcars were a fleet of twenty-four unique streetcars that were originally built to provide transportation for the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park. The cars were designed by the San Diego Electric Railway Company under the leadership of John D. Spreckels and...

.

Pedestrianism

New pedestrianism

New Pedestrianism is a more idealistic variation of New Urbanism in urban planning theory, founded in 1999 by Michael E. Arth, an American artist, urban/home/landscape designer, futurist, and author...

in all of the urban mesa neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park is high relative to the rest of San Diego and these neighborhoods feature compact blocks and walkable business districts.

Neighborhoods

Central San Diego is bounded by Mission Valley to the north, Interstate 15 to the east, San Diego Bay