Our work to transform the Diamond Neighborhoods into a vibrant and thriving innovation district is about taking risks and turning challenges into opportunities. Every community conversation, workshop, town hall meeting, and survey has been a “hands-on” learning experience that not only informs our work, but can also provide valuable data to organizations striving to create the dynamics of sustainable community revitalization.

Our work engages residents and leads us to collaborate with innovators in philanthropy, community engagement, creative placemaking, workforce development, and education. This network of learning works to advance new approaches to community building, equitable development, social enterprise, and community ownership.

The Jacobs Center partners with UC San Diego Extension to collect data on the Diamond Neighborhoods in hopes that this data will empower organizations and residents to continually enhance the social and economic well-being of the community. This document includes data on demographics, local economy, health, education, and the physical environment that the research team has analyzed so far.

This plan provides residents, community partners, developers, and funders with the vision for an arts and culture district in the Diamond Neighborhoods that was identified through a nine-month community input process in 2012. The plan outlines common themes that public art in the community should express, possible art forms, and priority locations. The Art + Design Plan includes guidelines for future developments, as well as an implementation strategy and recommendations for supporting this vision.

Furthering the 2002 Chollas Creek Enhancement Program, the Activating Chollas Creek Through Art & Sustainable Design plan, aims to transform Chollas Creek from a hidden and neglected waterway into a linear urban park, becoming a historic, geographic, symbolic and civic focal point. It will activate a key portion of Chollas Creek, located at the northwest corner of Euclid Avenue and Market Street in the Encanto Neighborhood of San Diego. Through this work, the Creek will once again become the community’s heart and soul, restoring the inner energy and inherent need for nature in each of its residents.

San Diego City Council District 4 presents an immense opportunity for profit-minded retailers and investors. Research shows that residents of District 4 have significant purchasing power, but they make the majority of their purchases outside of District 4, indicating a clear opportunity for investment within the district to fill the gaps.