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| East Bay | |
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Main article: East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The eastern side of the bay, consisting of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, is known locally as the East Bay. The East Bay can be loosely divided into two regions, the inner East Bay, which adjoins the Bay shoreline, and the outer East Bay, consisting of inland valleys separated from the inner East Bay by hills and mountains.
The inner East Bay includes the western portions of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, including the cities of Oakland, Hayward, Fremont, Berkeley, and Richmond, as well as many smaller suburbs such as Alameda, Castro Valley, Newark, Union City, Emeryville, Albany, San Leandro, San Pablo, Crockett, El Sobrante, Pinole, San Lorenzo, Hercules, Rodeo, Piedmont, and El Cerrito. The inner East Bay is more densely populated, with generally older buildings, and a more ethnically diverse population. This region contains the Bay Area's largest seaport, the Port of Oakland, the headquarters of Pixar Animation Studios, and hosts the professional sports franchises the Golden State Warriors, Oakland Raiders, and Oakland Athletics.
The outer East Bay consists of the eastern portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties and is divided into 5 distinct areas: Lamorinda, Central Contra Costa County, East Contra Costa County, the San Ramon Valley, and the Livermore-Amador Valley. The word Lamorinda was coined by combining the names of the cities it includes: Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda. Walnut Creek is situated east of Lamorinda and north of the San Ramon Valley and, together with Concord, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill comprises Central Contra Costa County. The cities of Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood, Oakley and the unincorporated areas surrounding them comprise East Contra Costa County. The cities of Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, comprise the Livermore-Amador Valley (sometimes joined with the San Ramon Valley and called the Tri-Valley), or more popularly referred to as the Livermore Valley because Livermore is the largest city in the valley. The San Ramon Valley consists of Alamo, Danville, Diablo and its namesake, San Ramon to the south. The outer East Bay is connected to the inner East Bay (East/West) by BART, Interstate 580 to the south, and State Routes State Route 4 to the north, and State Route 24 via the Caldecott Tunnel in the center. The outer East Bay's infrastructure was mostly built up after World War II. This area remains largely white demographically, although the Hispanic and Filipino populations have grown significantly over the past 2–3 decades.
[edit] Tags:San Francisco,San Pablo,Oakland,Alameda,Contra Costa,Port Of Oakland,Hayward,Fremont,Berkeley,Richmond,Castro Valley,Newark,Union City,Emeryville,Albany,San Leandro,Crockett,El Sobrante,Pinole,San Lorenzo,Hercules,Rodeo,Piedmont,El Cerrito,Seaport,Pixar Animation Studios,Golden State Warriors,Oakland Raiders,Oakland Athletics,Lafayette,Moraga,Orinda,Walnut Creek,Concord,Martinez,Pleasant Hill,Antioch,Pittsburg,Brentwood,Oakley,Dublin,Pleasanton,Livermore,Tri-valley,Livermore Valley,Alamo,Danville,Diablo,San Ramon,Bart,580,State Route 4,State Route 24,Caldecott Tunnel,Cisco, | |
| North Bay | |
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Main article: North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
Napa Valley is most famous for its wine.
The region north of the Golden Gate Bridge is known locally as the North Bay. This area encompasses Marin County, Sonoma County, Napa County and extends eastward into Solano County. The city of Fairfield, being part of Solano County, is often considered the eastern most city of the North Bay.
With few exceptions, this region is quite affluent: Marin County is ranked as the wealthiest in the state. The North Bay is comparatively rural to the remainder of the Bay Area, with many areas of undeveloped open space, farmland and vineyards. Santa Rosa in Sonoma County is the North Bay's largest city, with a population of 167,815 and a Metropolitan Statistical Area population of 466,891, making it the fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The North Bay is the only section of the Bay Area that is not currently served by a commuter rail service. The lack of transportation services is mainly because of the lack of population mass in the North Bay, and the fact that it is separated completely from the rest of the Bay Area by water, the only access points being the Golden Gate Bridge leading to San Francisco, the Richmond-San Rafael and Carquinez Bridges leading to Richmond, and the Benicia-Martinez Bridge leading to Martinez.
[edit] Tags:Marin,Napa,Solano,Sonoma,Commuter Rail,Golden Gate Bridge,Napa Valley,Marin County,Sonoma County,Napa County,Solano County,Fairfield,Santa Rosa,Metropolitan Statistical Area,Richmond-san Rafael,Carquinez Bridges,Benicia-martinez Bridge, | |
| Peninsula | |
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Main article: San Francisco Peninsula
View of Colma, California, looking down from San Bruno Mountain
The area from San Francisco to the Silicon Valley, geographically part of the San Francisco Peninsula, is known locally as The Peninsula. This area consists of a series of cities and suburban communities in San Mateo County and the northwestern part of Santa Clara County, as well as various towns along the Pacific coast, such as Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. This area is extremely diverse, although it contains significant populations of affluent family households with the exception of East Palo Alto and some parts of Redwood City. Many of the cities and towns had originally been centers of rural life until the post-World War II era when large numbers of middle and upper class Bay Area residents moved in and developed the small villages. Since the 1980s the area has seen a large growth rate of middle and upper class families who have settled in cities like Palo Alto, Woodside, Portola Valley, and Atherton as part of the technology boom of Silicon Valley. Many of these families are of foreign background and have significantly contributed to the diversity of the area. The Peninsula is also home to what used to be one of the deadliest cities in the United States, East Palo Alto. Peninsula cities include: Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Pacifica, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Redwood Shores, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco and Woodside.
Whereas the term peninsula technically refers to the entire geographical San Franciscan Peninsula, in local terms, The Peninsula does not include the city of San Francisco itself.[citation needed]
[edit] Tags:San Mateo,Santa Clara,Silicon Valley,Diversity,San Francisco Peninsula,Colma, California,San Bruno Mountain,San Mateo County,Santa Clara County,Pacific,Pacifica,Half Moon Bay,East Palo Alto,Palo Alto,Woodside,Portola Valley,Atherton,Belmont,Brisbane,Burlingame,Colma,Daly City,Foster City,Hillsborough,Los Altos,Los Altos Hills,Menlo Park,Millbrae,Mountain View,Redwood City,Redwood Shores,San Bruno,San Carlos,South San Francisco, | |
| San Francisco | |
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Main article: San Francisco
San Francisco panorama from Twin Peaks.
San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides; the north, east, and west. The city squeezes approximately 805,000 people in under 46.9 square miles (121 km2), making it the second most densely populated major city in North America after New York City.[7] On any given day, there can be as many as 1 million people in the city because of the commuting population and tourism. San Francisco also has the largest commuter population of the Bay Area cities. The limitations of land area, however, make continued population growth challenging, and also has resulted in increased real estate prices. Though San Francisco is located at the tip of the peninsula, when the peninsula is discussed, it usually refers to the communities and geographic locations south of the city proper.
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| San Jose and Silicon Valley | |
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Main article: South Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
A panorama over Downtown San Jose
The communities at the southern region of the San Francisco Bay Area are primarily located in what is known as Silicon Valley, or the Santa Clara Valley. These include the major city of San Jose, and its suburbs, including the high-tech hubs of Santa Clara, Milpitas, Cupertino, Sunnyvale as well as many other cities like Saratoga, Campbell, Los Gatos and the exurbs of Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Some Peninsula and East Bay towns are sometimes recognized as being in the Santa Clara Valley. Generally, the term South Bay refers to Santa Clara County, but the northwest portion of the county (Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills) is considered part of the Peninsula (even though these cities are in Santa Clara County).
Silicon Valley was primarily an agricultural center from the time of California's founding until World War II. During and after the war, working and middle class families migrated to the area to settle and work in the burgeoning aerospace and electronics industries. The South Bay Area experienced rapid growth as agriculture was gradually replaced by high-technology. During this period, the Santa Clara Valley gradually became an urbanized metropolitan region. Today, the growth continues, fueled primarily by technology jobs, the weather, and immigrant labor. Urbanization is gradually replacing suburbanization as the population density of the valley increases. This trend has resulted in a huge increase in property values, forcing many middle class families out of the area or into lower income neighborhoods in older sections of the region. The Santa Clara Valley also came to be known as Silicon Valley, as the area became the premier technology center of the United States. Some notable tech companies headquartered in the South Bay are AMD, Adobe, BROCADE, Intel, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Google, eBay, Facebook and Yahoo!. Largely a result of the high technology sector, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area has the most millionaires and the most billionaires in the United States per capita.[8]
The population of the entire valley is part of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan area, which has over 2 million residents. San Jose, the largest city in the Silicon Valley area, is the tenth most populous city in the United States and the most populous city in the Bay Area. San Jose is the oldest city in California and was its first capital. The city prides itself on being an environmentally conscious city. It recycles a greater percentage of its waste than any other large American city. Over the past several decades, the South Bay Area has experienced rapid growth. To try and limit the effects of urban sprawl, planned communities were laid out to control growth. Urban growth boundaries have been established to protect remaining open space (primarily in the surrounding hills and southern border) from development. Most new growth has been urban infill in the form of high density housing to increase density rate. The growth rate has slowed, but the area continues to have steady growth.
San Jose and the South Bay have a Mediterranean Climate. The South Bay hosts many outdoor events throughout the year as a result, including concerts, sporting events, and other outdoor activities. San Jose is home to many sports teams both amateur and professional, such as the San Jose Sharks of the NHL, and the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS.
The South Bay has a large transportation infrastructure that includes many freeways, VTA bus service and light rail, Amtrak, and commuter rail such as Caltrain. The San Jose International Airport serves air traffic in the South Bay Area and is conveniently located just north of downtown in the center of Silicon Valley. The height of buildings in Downtown is limited (due to FAA regulations and city ordinance) because it is situated directly under the flight path. The South Bay is poised to have a more efficient transportation network with the extension of the BART system to San Jose, which would allow elevated/subway travel into San Francisco. San Jose will also be a major stop on the proposed California High-Speed Rail system.[9][10]
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| Santa Cruz and San Benito | |
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Main articles: Santa Cruz County, California and San Benito County, California
Whether Santa Cruz and San Benito counties are considered part of the San Francisco Bay Area depends on the observer. For example, the regional governments in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board include only the nine counties above in their boundaries or membership. (The BAAQMD includes all of the nine counties except the northern portions of Sonoma and Solano; the RWQCB includes all of San Francisco and the portions of the other eight counties that drain to San Francisco Bay or to the Pacific Ocean.)[11] However, the United States Census Bureau defines the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Consolidated Statistical Area as an eleven-county region, including the nine counties above plus Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties. Meanwhile, the California State Parks Department defines the Bay Area as including ten counties,[12] including Santa Cruz but excluding San Benito. On the other hand, Santa Cruz and San Benito along with Monterey County are part of a different regional government organization called the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. Local media in the San Francisco Bay Area and travel guides often consider these two counties as part of the South Bay subregion.[13][14][15][16][17]
[edit] Tags:United States Census Bureau,Santa Cruz, | |
| Economy | |
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In 2009 the San Francisco Bay Area had a GDP of $487 billion, the second largest in California and one of the largest in the United States.[18]
The Silicon Valley is located within the southern reaches of the Bay Area. The leading high technology region in the world, Silicon Valley covers San Jose and several cities of South Bay. The Valley is home to many of the industry leaders in technology such as Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Cisco, Apple, Oracle, Marvell and Hewlett-Packard. Major corporations in San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and the surrounding cities help make the region second in the nation in concentration of Fortune 500 companies, after New York.[19] The region's northern counties encompass California's famous Wine Country, home to hundreds of vineyards and wineries. The Bay Area is a leader in sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and sustainable energy and for being a leading producer of high quality food, wine, and innovation in the culinary arts. The area is renowned for its natural beauty. It is also known as being one of the most expensive regions to live in the country.[5][20]
Oakland, on the east side of the bay, has the fifth largest container shipping port in the United States. The city is also a major rail terminus.[21]
Changes in house prices for the Bay Area are publicly tracked on a regular basis using the Case–Shiller index; the statistic is published by Standard & Poor's and is also a component of S&P's 10-city composite index of the value of the U.S. residential real estate market.
[edit] Tags:Wine Country, | |
| Demographics | |
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Historical populations
Census
Pop.
%±
1860
114,074
—
1870
265,808
133.0%
1880
422,128
58.8%
1890
547,618
29.7%
1900
658,111
20.2%
1910
925,708
40.7%
1920
1,182,911
27.8%
1930
1,578,009
33.4%
1940
1,734,308
9.9%
1950
2,681,322
54.6%
1960
3,638,939
35.7%
1970
4,628,199
27.2%
1980
5,179,784
11.9%
1990
6,023,577
16.3%
2000
6,783,760
12.6%
2010
7,150,739
5.4%
Note: 9 County Population Totals
According to the 2010 United States Census, the population was 7.15 million in the nine counties bordering the San Francisco Bay.[1] In 2010 the racial makeup of the nine-county Bay Area was 52.5% White including white Hispanic, 6.7% non-Hispanic African American, 0.7% Native American, 23.3% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 10.8% from other races, and 5.4% from two or more races. The population was 23.5% Hispanic or Latino of any race.[22][1]
In 2007 the population density was 1,057 people per square mile. There were 2,499,702 housing units with an average family size of 3.3. Of the 2,499,702 households, approximately one-third were renter occupied housing units, while two-thirds were owner occupied housing units. 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 11.6% of households had someone 65 years of age or older, and 27.4% of households were non-families.[1]
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the wealthiest regions in the U.S, due, primarily, to the economic power engines of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. Pleasanton has the second highest household income in the country after New Canaan, CT. However, discretionary income is very comparable with the rest of the country, primarily because the higher cost of living offsets the increased income.[23]
Forty-seven Bay Area residents made the Forbes magazine's 400 richest Americans list, published in 2007.[24] Thirteen live within San Francisco proper, placing it seventh among cities in the world. Among the forty-two were several well-known names such as Steve Jobs, George Lucas, and Charles Schwab. The highest-ranking resident is Larry Ellison of Oracle at No. 4. He is worth $19.5 billion.
A study a Capgemini indicates that in 2009, 4.5% of all households within the San Francisco-Oakland and San Jose metropolitan areas held $1 million in investable assets, placing the region No. 1 in the United States (Metro New York City placed second at 4.3%).[25]
As of 2007, there were approximately 80 public companies with annual revenues of over $1 billion a year, and 5–10 more private companies. Nearly 2/3 of these are in the Silicon Valley section of the Bay Area. According to the May 2010 Fortune Magazine analysis of the US "Fortune 500" companies, the combined San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan region ranks second (after metro New York City and before Chicago) with 30 companies (May 2011, Fortune Magazine).[26]
[edit] Tags: | |
| Politics | |
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The San Francisco Bay Area is widely regarded as one of the most liberal areas in the country. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI), congressional districts the Bay Area tends to favor Democratic candidates by roughly 40 to 50 percentage points, considerably above the mean for California and the nation overall. All congressional districts in the region voted for Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election. Over the last four and a half decades the 9-county Bay Area voted for Republican candidates only twice, once in 1972 for Richard Nixon and again in 1980 for Ronald Reagan, both Californians. The last county to vote for a Republican Presidential candidate was Napa county in 1988 for George H. W. Bush.
Presidential election results
Year
Democrat
Republican
2008
73.8% 2,172,411
24.4% 717,989
2004
69.2% 1,926,726
29.3% 815,225
2000
64.1% 1,607,695
30.0% 751,832
1996
60.5% 1,417,511
28.3% 662,263
1992
56.2% 1,476,971
25.0% 658,202
1988
57.8% 1,338,533
40.8% 945,802
1984
50.8% 1,157,855
47.9% 1,090,115
1980
40.7% 827,309
44.4% 904,100
1976
49.9% 950,055
45.8% 872,920
1972
48.2% 990,560
49.1 1,007,615
1968
50.8% 890,650
41.3% 725,304
1964
65.7% 1,116,215
34.1% 579,528
1960
52.0% 820,860
47.6% 751,719
District
Location
Cook PVI
% for Obama, 2008[27]
Median Household Income[28]
Per Capita Income[28]
&066th district
Marin County and southern Sonoma County
D +23
76.0%
$59,115
$33,036
&077th district
Richmond, Vallejo, Vacaville, and Pittsburg
D +19
71.7%
$52,778
$22,016
&088th district
City and County of San Francisco
D +35
85.4%
$52,322
$34,552
&099th district
Oakland, Berkeley and Piedmont
D +37
88.1%
$44,314
$25,201
&1010th district
Fairfield, Livermore, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Concord, and El Cerrito
D +11
64.9%
$65,245
$31,093
&1111th district
Parts of Contra Costa, Alameda, and Santa Clara counties including Morgan Hill, Pleasanton, and San Ramon
R +01
53.8%
$61,996
$28,420
&1212th district
San Francisco Peninsula including most of San Mateo County
D +23
74.3%
$70,307
$34,448
&1313th district
Much of the East Bay, including Fremont, Union City and Hayward
D +22
74.4%
$ Tags:Liberal, | |
z³ote monety |