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Skyline, San Diego
Community of San Diego
Skyline
Nickname(s): "Skyline Hills", "Skyline Park"
Skyline is located in the southeastern area of the city of San Diego
Skyline, San DiegoLocation within Southeast San Diego
Coordinates: 32°42′31″N 117°02′28″W / 32.7087°N 117.0412°W / 32.7087; -117.0412
Country	United States of America
State	California
County	San Diego
City	San Diego

Skyline, also known as Skyline Hills or Skyline Park, is a hilly urban neighborhood in San Diego, California, located in Southeastern San Diego. It is bordered by Encanto to the west, Jamacha-Lomita to the North East, and Bay Terraces to the South. The neighborhood is split into two sections, Skyline West and Skyline East. The neighborhood is part of the Skyline-Paradise Hills Community Planning Area.

History

Prior to "white flight" in the 1960s and early 1970s, many neighborhoods in Southeast San Diego were subject to discriminatory restrictive covenants, a problem faced by African-Americans like former Councilman and Deputy Mayor George Stevens, who was denied the opportunity to purchase a house in the Skyline Hills from a white realtor. Presently, much of the Skyline Hills, as well as other Encanto neighborhoods such as Emerald Hills, Lincoln Park, Mountain View, O'Farrell, South Encanto, and Valencia Park, have a substantial African-American population.

With the great influx of Filipino immigrants joining the United States Navy, especially from the Vietnam War era on to the 1990s, many Filipinos inhabited the Southeast San Diego neighborhoods of Alta Vista, Bay Terraces, Paradise Hills, Shelltown, Skyline Hills, and Valencia Park, both for the relatively affordable housing prices and its close proximity to Naval Base San Diego.

Geography

The Skyline-Paradise Hills Community as a whole make up approximately 4,500 acres. Much like the surrounding neighborhoods of Bay Terraces, Paradise Hills, and Jamacha-Lomita, Skyline is composed predominantly of low-density single-family homes spread across the hilly area. A major geographic feature is Paradise Valley, which runs on an east-west axis through the middle of the community and gives rise to the Paradise Creek, which flows into San Diego Bay. Skyline, along with North Bay Terrace, Jamacha, and Lomita are north of Paradise Valley Rd.

Demographics

Skyline is a very diverse neighborhood and home to one of the largest concentrations of African-Americans in the City. Current demographics for the neighborhood are as follows: people of Hispanic heritage make up 36.4%, followed by African-Americans at 31.6%, Asian at 19.9%, non-Hispanic Whites 7.0%, Mixed Race at 4.4% and others 0.6% It ranked 112 out of 125 San Diego neighborhoods in terms of lowest percentage of non-Hispanic whites, and 13 out of 125 San Diego neighborhoods in terms of total population that is non-White (roughly 93.0%).

Image

Much like other neighborhoods in Southeast San Diego, Skyline consists of postwar tract homes built in the 1950s and 1960's that have been outfitted with iron bars over the ground-floor windows and doors, as well as cast-iron gates and chain-link fences guarding driveways, a reflection of the perceived need for security in these historically high-crime urban neighborhoods.

Skyline has endured decades of narcotic problems and gang violence, and was the target of several law enforcement operations and sweeps, targeting the Skyline East Side Piru gang in particular, an offshoot gang started by members of the Eastside Hanging Gang (EHG) and a relocated Piru gang member from Compton, and believed to be one of the largest Blood gangs in San Diego. Hundreds of members of the gang have been arrested as a result of these periodic sweeps since 1990. The East Side Pirus are referenced along other Piru affiliated groups as "the Skylines" in the 1993 single, "Piru Love" by Los Angeles-based rap group, Bloods & Crips. They have held a long-bitter rivalry with the Lincoln Park Bloods, which has been attributed to much of the violent crime and homicides across Southeast San Diego.

Notable Hip Hop artist, Lecrae, who spent significant portions of his life living with his grandmother in Skyline, experienced much of the violence occurring in the community, and has paid tribute to the neighborhood in his songs including his 2013 single, "I'm Turnt," ("It's Southeast Daygo in the building, shout out to Peter Pan, Skyline, Imperial"), and the 2019 single, "California Dreamin'" with 116, ("What up Southeast? (Daygo), raised me to be a lil' beast, caught a couple fades in the streets, played on the beach ...I'm rollin' down Imperial, old school in my stereo, from Skyline, you don't hear me, though (Skyline))." The music video for the latter was filmed entirely in the Skyline neighborhood that he grew up in.

Government

Skyline is within the 4th City Council District. The district has long been represented by Myrtle Cole since she won a special election in 2013 through 2018. It is currently represented by Monica Montgomery Steppe, who assumed office in 2018. Federally, the neighborhood is within the California's 53rd congressional district.

Education

Skyline is served primarily by San Diego Unified School District along with some charter and private schools. Schools that serve Skyline students include Morse High School, the largest school in the area, Keiller Leadership Academy, a college-preparatory charter school partnered with the University of San Diego, and The O'Farrell Charter Schools, an educational complex chartered as multiple schools in one, located at just the in-between area of Skyline and South Encanto.

Much like the rest of Southeast San Diego, many students in Skyline have taken advantage of San Diego Unified School District's Voluntary Enrollment Exchange Program (VEEP), and have opted to be bused to high schools in San Diego's more affluent northern suburban neighborhoods. Depending on their VEEP Allied School Pattern, a high school student may be voluntarily bused to Mira Mesa High School, Mission Bay High School, Scripps Ranch High School, Serra High School, and University City High School.

References

1. "Greater Skyline Hills | Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe (District 4) | City of San Diego Official Website". Sandiego.gov. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
2. "Profile" (PDF). www.sandiego.gov. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
3. "Community Profiles: Skyline-Paradise Hills". City of San Diego. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
4. "George Stevens 1932–2006 11 years a councilman, always a fighter". Retrieved November 17, 2007.
5. "Journal of San Diego History". Retrieved November 17, 2007.
6. "San Diego Reader - Their Own Paradise". Retrieved November 17, 2020.
7. "Skyline-Paradise Hills Community Plan". Scoutred. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
8. "Race-and-Ethnicity". Statistical Atlas. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
9. "Race and Ethnicity in Skyline, San Diego, California". Statistical Atlas. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
10. "On the street. Fighting crime in some of San Diego's toughest neighborhoods". Retrieved November 22, 2007.
11. "Released from Pelican Bay to San Diego with $200". San Diego Reader. November 7, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
12. "96 Crips, Bloods Arrested During 'Red Rag' Sweep : Gangs: Police round up gang members on drug charges in sequel to "Operation Blue Rag."". Los Angeles Times. November 30, 1990. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
13. "Piru Love". Genius. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
14. "PEOPLE V. THOMAS". Casemine. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
15. "I'm Turnt Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
16. ""116 & Lecrae Share Nostalgic "California Dreamin' Single & Visual"". Hot New Hip-Hop. October 1, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
17. ""116 & Lecrae Share Nostalgic "California Dreamin'" Single & Visual"". Hot New Hip-Hop. October 1, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
18. San Diego (Calif.) (2000). San Diego Annual Budget. City Manager. p. 895.
19. Bowen, Andrew (July 29, 2016). "Councilwoman's Comments On Racial Profiling Spark Outcry". KPBS. San Diego. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
20. Garrick, David (November 7, 2018). "Cole, Zapf lose re-election bids in two rare instances of San Diego council incumbents being rejected". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
21. "A Community of Contrasts" (PDF). Union of Pan Asian Communities. Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Los Angeles. 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
22. "VEEP Information". Archived from the original on December 10, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
23. "2007–2008 VEEP Allied Patterns" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 2, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2007.

32°42′31″N 117°02′28″W / 32.7087°N 117.0412°W / 32.7087; -117.0412

• Neighborhoods in San Diego