Institute
for Regional Studies of the CaliforniasInstitute
for Regional Studies of the CaliforniasThe International Border Planning Area, as delineated in this atlas (see Map 1), includes 49,500 acres (20,040 hectares) of land and extends approximately 19 miles (30 kilometers) from the Pacific Ocean to the Otay Mountains-Cerro San Isidro on the eastern edge of urbanized Tijuana. On the U.S. side, the planning area includes the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and Imperial Beach Naval Air Station within the City of Imperial Beach; the Tijuana River Valley; the communities of San Ysidro and Otay Mesa within the City of San Diego; and the eastern portion of Otay Mesa within the County of San Diego. On the Mexican side, the planning area includes portions of the delegaciones (delegations) of Playas de Tijuana, Zona Centro (that includes part of the Zona Río development), and Mesa de Otay within the Municipality of Tijuana.
The International Border Planning Area generally follows the boundaries of official community planning areas, administrative subdivisions, and statistical data units utilized in San Diego and Tijuana. The specific boundary selection for the International Border Planning Area was made to ensure inclusion of key areas as well as similar amounts of land on each side of the international boundary.
The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Tijuana River Valley portions of the planning area include one of the largest and most important wetland systems in San Diego County and Southern California. The estuary supports extensive salt marsh and saltpan habitats, where every effort is being made to eliminate pollution, restore wetlands, and reintroduce endangered species into this environmentally sensitive area. The Tijuana River Valley consists mainly of a broad flood plain surrounded by urban development. The valley is a mixture of agricultural fields, equestrian facilities, rural housing (population of 114 in early 1999), riparian woodland and disturbed habitats, several ponds, and a lake created by sand mining. Flooding is a major issue in this area. Other concerns are salt water intrusion into the aquifers, illegal trash dumping, contamination from renegade sewage flows, nonpoint source pollution during storm events, and siltation from upstream erosion. The City of San Diego's Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) proposes to preserve these areas and their natural habitats. The County of San Diego is developing a regional park in the Tijuana River Valley and is currently acquiring land for this purpose.
San Ysidro is the main urban border community in the U.S. portion of the International Border Planning Area. It is characterized by closely knit neighborhoods and a blend of two countries reflecting a varied heritage. Its location adjacent to one of the busiest border crossings in the world forces San Ysidro to contend with many issues and impacts. Significant projects have been proposed for the community to respond to border needs, including an intermodal transportation terminal, a new border crossing, and a large commercial development. The population of the San Ysidro community was 27,450 inhabitants in early 1999.
The western portion of Otay Mesa is in the City of San Diego and the eastern part is in the County of San Diego. Western Otay Mesa is only partly developed, mostly with industrial uses. It is lightly populated, with 489 residents in early 1999. Otay Mesa has the largest remaining acreage of industrially designated land within the City of San Diego and is expected to be a primary industrial growth area in the twenty-first century. Otay Mesa on the U.S. side of the border, is located directly across the largest concentration of maquiladoras operating in Tijuana. This explains why much of the present development in Otay Mesa consists of customs brokers, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, trucking services, and administrative headquarters to service international trade and the maquiladora industry. The City's Otay Mesa is also the site of a port of entry that handles all of the region's commercial traffic, as well as a portion of noncommercial and pedestrian traffic. In addition, a major cargo airport development has been proposed for Brown Field. The County's area included in the East Otay Mesa Specific Plan is largely undeveloped. The portion of the specific plan included in the International Border Planning Area consists of a relatively flat mesa with a steep mountainous area on the eastern edge. A new border crossing is proposed in east Otay Mesa, within the County's jurisdiction. Consistent with projected demand for industrial uses connected with manufacturing growth in Mexico, most of the relatively flat land is planned for combined industrial and commercial uses. The area has the potential to be the largest industrial and business district within the County's unincorporated area. The biologically sensitive steep slopes are planned for very low density rural residential uses or conservation. In 1999, some 18,500 acres (7,493 hectares) of Otay Mountain were designated as a National Wilderness Area by the U.S. federal government and incorporation of additional lands is planned for the future.
Portions of three administrative subdivisions of the Municipality of Tijuana are included in the International Border Planning Area. These delegaciones are decentralized providers of a range of urban services. The Playas de Tijuana area became a separate administrative delegation in 1984. It is a modern urbanized zone that is primarily residential and borders the Pacific Ocean. Playas de Tijuana is characterized by mesas, gentle hills, and varied slopes, with much of its area suitable for development. The estimated 1999 population of the entire delegation of Playas de Tijuana was 128,862 residents distributed in some 75 neighborhoods, or colonias.
The Zona Centro delegation contains the traditional center of Tijuana as well as its major historic and tourist attractions. About 61 percent of the land use in this delegation consists of commercial retail and services, while nearly 20 percent is residential housing with a 1999 population of 140,250 inhabitants. The Zona Río section of Zona Centro emerged beginning in the 1980s, after the Tijuana River was channelized and the former flood plain was made available for development of shopping centers, housing, government offices, a cultural center complex, commercial offices, and restaurants.
Mesa de Otay was designated as a delegation in 1984. This area has experienced significant growth in recent years and is an important center of the maquiladora industry located in a number of industrial parks, as well as for activities associated with the Tijuana international airport, new housing and shopping centers, and the port of entry that handles all commercial traffic in the region. This delegation is also the site of the Autonomous University of Baja California, the Technological Institute of Tijuana, and other higher education institutions. Mesa de Otay is characterized by a gently sloping mesa separated from the rest of Tijuana by steep and moderate slopes that jointly create a challenge for provision of services, including roads and utilities. The estimated 1999 population of the delegation of Mesa de Otay was 223,883 persons residing in some 72 neighborhoods.
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| Cuauhtémoc Monument on Paseo de los Héroes in the Zona Río. 2000. |
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| Otay Mesa-Mesa de Otay. The electrical transmission line links Tijuana and the Southern California power grid. 2000. |
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| New housing on Otay Mesa at the northern edge of the Border Planning Area. 2000. |
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| Colonia Libertad with bare hills above San Ysidro in background. 2000. |
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