City Heights

Background

City Heights, known for its diversity, is a dense urban community of 95,000 living in approximately 6.5 square miles within San Diego.  Poverty, unemployment, child obesity, asthma, and violence are some key problems this community faces.

Within the complex landscape of need, City Heights has many valuable assets: nonprofit organizations, philanthropies, and residents highly engaged in and dedicated to their community. City Heights leaders and residents have a track record of achievements, including starting New Roots Community Farm, making City Heights Farmer’s Market among the first farmers’ markets nationwide to accept food stamps, and several high-quality affordable housing developments.

City Heights Building Healthy Communities is held by Mid-City Community Advocacy Network (CAN). The mission of Mid-City CAN is to promote a safe, productive, and healthy community through the collaborative efforts of families, youth, schools, religious and cultural organizations, businesses, and public and private agencies. As part of Building Healthy Communities, Mid-City CAN supports several Momentum Teams, or issue-based workgroups:  Access To Healthcare, Peace Promotion, Food Justice, Improving Transportation, Restorative Pipeline to Success, and the Youth Council.

City Heights Community

Quick Facts

• The average yearly income for a family of four is between $19,393 and $24,400, within the range of the federal poverty level of $22,050.
• Unemployment in City Heights is 20.5 percent, roughly twice the County of San Diego average of 11 percent.
• 42.4 percent of City Heights residents are foreign born.
• City Heights racial and ethnic makeup is as follows: 54 percent Latino, 19 percent Asian or Pacific Islander, 13 percent African-American, 12 percent White, and 2 percent Other.
• San Diego has 36.3 acres per 1,000 residents,  a density well above the median for all cities.  However, it is estimated that City Heights only has 1.52 acres of park per 1,000 residents,creating urgency to move projects like the skatepark.

Focus Areas

Residents and partners in Mid-City CAN are driving change across many systems and issues. The map below gives a snapshot of the breadth of their actions (click the boxes under each category to learn more), followed by more information on our top four priorities for the coming year.

• Restorative Justice: The Peace Promotion workgroup aims to establish a Restorative Community Conferencing juvenile justice demonstration project to support youth offender, victim, and community reconciliation that repairs harm to the community and diverts youth from traditional juvenile detention and probation processes.
• Healthy School Meals: Run by the Food Justice workgroup, this resident-initiated campaign aims to increase the availability of locally-grown fruits and vegetables in school meals, and to provide for healthy halal menu options that allow students to eat in accordance with their religious beliefs.
• Safe Parks and Recreational Opportunities: Youth-led campaigns secured park land and approximately $2 million in funding to build two new skate facilities, and to expand opportunities for Muslim girls to engage in physical activities like swimming. Other community campaigns  run by the Youth Council workgroup include increased safety in and utilization of Teralta and Colina Parks.
• Youth Transit Passes: The Improving Transportation in City Heights  workgroup collaborated to secure support and funding for the no-cost Youth Opportunity Pass, which removes transportation barriers to accessing school, jobs, and other activities, a common problem in the neighborhood with the lowest rates of automobile ownership in the region.

Learn More

• For more information on City Heights’ efforts to build a healthier community, visit Mid-City CAN’s website. 
• For news and insight into what’s happening now in City Heights, check out SpeakCityHeights. 
• City Heights building healthy communities plan 
• A Health Impact Assessment of a Skatepark in City Heights, San Diego 
• Education Report: United Way Partnership for Children 

Get Connected

Steve Eldred
Program Manager, City Heights

Steve Eldred, Program Manager for City Heights, joined The California Endowment in 2001. Prior to joining The Endowment, Eldred served as Health Planning and Program Specialist for the San Diego County Department of Health Service’s Office of AIDS Coordination. Before that, Eldred served with the State of Hawaii Department of Health as a Senior Planner for the Governor’s Committee on AIDS. Eldred currently serves as the co-chair for San Diego Neighborhood Funders and is on the steering committee of Orange County Health Funders Partnership. He is also a member of multiple San Diego planning groups, including the City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention. Eldred, a San Diego native, received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.