CONTEXTUAL UNDERSTANDING

Chapter 02 Site Population And Demographic Distribution

Contextual Understanding: Population and Demographic Distribution

The City of San Diego is the 8th largest city in the United States, with just over 1.4 million residents (3.5 million in San Diego County). It is a diverse community with the country’s largest military community. Unlike some urban centers the community is expected to see growth greater than 1% in the years to come. Because of its proximity to Mexico and economic circumstances, the community is, and is continuing to become more multicultural, with approximately 41% of households speaking multiple languages. There are 52 communities / areas within the City each with their own unique feel. California Western School of Law (CWSL) is located in the Downtown area, specifically on Cortez Hill.

The downtown area is in a state of transition with continued growth anticipated in housing units, retail, hospitality and even office space. This growth is coming at a time when the downtown area is in transition. COVID has negatively impacted the downtown area. Like many in the country, it has experienced exponential growth of unhoused individuals finding solace in urban centers with more comfortable weather. The additional housing units, and renovations to long unoccupied areas downtown (Horton Plaza) and the lower downtown area near the Barrio Logan may help to address the issue, but only time will tell.

History And Historic Structures

The city of San Diego is home to historic structures that bring complexity and sense of place to the vibrant neighborhoods of downtown San Diego, like the Gaslamp Quarter, and Cortez Hill . Western settlement of the city began at the Mission of San Diego, just five miles from the site of Cal Western School of Law in the traditional lands of the Kumeyaay people. The city developed from the mission and Spanish fort in the area, changing hands from the Kumeyaay, to the Spanish, Mexicans, Californios, and United States Americans. The city began to expand significantly as a port town during the late 19th century and as a military base during the early 20th century and postwar period.

During this period, downtown San Diego became the focus of civic and cultural life, with upscale hotels like El Cortez Hotel and the U.S. Grant becoming prominent pieces of San Diego’s architecture. As suburbs expanded during the 1970s in San Diego, the urban core of downtown San Diego shifted to serve as a tourist attraction. During this period, urban renewal focused on establishing a historic district within the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. The city manages the preservation and maintenance of historic architecture in San Diego using a three-tiered system based on classification on National, Californian, and local San Diego Registers of Historic Resources. California Western School of Law currently occupies one of these historic buildings, classified as a historic resource eligible for the National Register of Historic Places with the exterior building protected by the city as a Historically Registered Landmark. This structure was the first location of all Cal Western School of Law functions and is currently Cal Western’s primary instructional building. It has served nearly 100 years as a place for community gathering in San Diego. The classroom building was first established as Elks Hall by a social club called the Elks in 1929. In 1941, the title passed to the Masonic Temple Assn. as their first headquarters in Southern California. In 1967, the building first became used for university purposes as headquarters of California Western University of San Diego’s School of performing arts. In 1975, California Western School of Law became owner of Elks Hall and established the historic structure as the campus’s main classroom building .

Resource Availability

Insolation And Water Availability

An important part of designing low carbon buildings is to leverage the abundant resources available to enhance a building’s comfort and usefulness without negative impacts.

Onsite Energy Generation

Sustainable design conserves energy and resources and reduces the carbon footprint while improving building performance and comfort. Sustainable design anticipates future energy sources and needs.

According to Zero Code, the on-site roof mounted PV generation potential, or insolation value, in San Diego is equal to 3.1 kBtu/sf/yr.. To achieve Zero Net Energy, additional surfaces, such as façade or ground munt solar energy will need to be added to achieve the goal. This includes the freeway cap park which will contribute to a substantial portion of our on-site energy collection, utilizing PV shading devices and other PV features throughout the park.

Water Availability

Sustainable design conserves water and protects and improves water quality. Downtown San Diego is located on the Pacific Ocean, which increase humidity. However, it is located iIn a Mediterranean climate, temperatures and precipitation are traditionally mild year-round. The average annual rainfall in San Diego totals roughly 10 inches on the coast and increases as you go inland towards the mountains. Rainfall follows a seasonal distribution pattern, with much of the region’s precipitation occurring between December and March and almost no rainfall in the months between. Referencing the graph below, the average rainfall, shown in dark blue, is consistently about 10 inches, as mentioned above, while the actual rainfall exists both above and below the average, ranging from 3 to 18 inches. In the last few years, you can observe a slight, negative trend in the actual rainfall, while the average expected rainfall stays the same.

Wind And Geothermal

Further sources of potential energy exist all around us such as from wind, geothermal, and more which can serve to offset the high energy demand from buildings