Historic Overview of the City
The foundation of the City
The City of Santa Clarita is one of the largest cities in California that is considered to be a bright example of edge city due to its rich history and favorable conditions for living. Although Santa Clarita was incorporated only in 1987, its foundation dates back to AD 450 marked by the advent of the Tataviam people, the Native American tribes that have successful trade relations with other neighboring communities (Boston and Santa Clarita Valley Historic Society, 2009, p 35).
The city is often called “the navel of the universe” because it was the ancient center of Native American trade (Boston and Santa Clarita Valley Historic Society, 2009, p. 10).
The second half of the eighteenth century witnessed a considerable clash of realities and peoples when Santa Clarita Valley community encountered California’s first governor Gaspar de Portola, the first white person who visited these lands. Since that time, the SCV territory had been considered as a tidbit for numerous invaders due to the resources it was preserving.
A major event
The City of Santa Clarita faced a lot of important events taken on its territory that considerably changed the course of history. One of those events is the discovery of gold in California on the Oak of the Golden Dream. In 1842, Francisco Lopez was the first who managed to document this discovery (Boston and Santa Clarita Valley Historic Society, 2009, p. 38). Therefore, this place has become the center of numerous disputes and stories concerning gold mining and people hunting for glory and wealth.
City Statistics
Ethnical/racial composition
The total population of Santa Clarita is 168.008 as fixed in 2006. It increased by 11.1 % in comparison with the 2000 statistics showing that the city population equaled to 151.088 (US Census Bureau, 2010). According to the US census 2000, the ethnic/racial ratio of people is predominantly composed of 79.5 % White population and 2.1 % Black people.
In its turn, the White population consists of 20.5 % Hispanic of any race, 5.2 % Asian people, 0.6 % American Indian and Alaska Natives, and, finally, 0.1 % Native Hawaiians. 8.5 % belong to other races (US Census Bureau, 2010). The rest of the white population (approximately 59 %) refers to Non-Hispanic Whites (US Census Bureau, 2010).
Household income
There are 50.787 of households in Santa Clarita where each person possessed approximately three household units. An average household income makes up $ 66, 717, and money income per capita is $ 26.841 (US Census Bureau, 2000). Judging from the results, the presented percentage is a bit above the average level in comparison is household income in California (US Census Bureau, 2000). The level of poverty in Santa Clarita is 7.8 % lower than that in California.
Cost of living
By the data submitted in December 2009, the cost of living index equals to 136.1. Taking into consideration the fact that the US average cost of a living index makes up 100, Santa Clarita has quite high standards of living. This information can also be proved by the level of poverty, which decreased by 1 % within 2000-2008 by the US Census Bureau (2000) and City-Data com. (2003).
Age/sex
About recent records provided by Data.com (2003), the percentage of females and males in July 2009 makes up 50.5 % (83.713) and 49.5 % (85.461) correspondently. This is a relatively ideal ratio, and it coincides with the average gender ratio in California.
Analyzing the statistics submitted by US Census Bureau (2000), the City has 7.8 % people whose age is under five years, 7.1 % people whose age is 65 and over, and 30.3 % people belonging to the age category of fewer than 18 years old. Consequently, those people whose age ranges from 18 to 65 occupy the largest ratio, which is 54.8 %. The average resident age equals to 33.4 years (City-Data.com 2003).
Educational Attainment
The situation in the sphere of education is relatively good in comparison with that in California. In particular, Santa Clarita has 87.6 % high school graduates whose age is 25 and over.
This category involves people who received a professional or specialized diploma from a college or university (US Census Bureau, 2000). 29.1 % belong to that population group who obtained a Bachelor’s degree being at the age of 25 and over (US Census Bureau, 2000). Comparing these figures with those provided by the US Education Statistics in general, Santa Clarita fits in the norms.
City Attractions
Interesting neighborhoods and their unique attributes
The City of Santa Clarita is one of the largest recreational centers with outstanding neighborhood parks, recreational facilities, and neighborhood programs. It also controlled five swimming pool centers located in residential parks until 2003. In 2002, the city decided to create an aquatic center, which consisted of three swimming pools (Gould, 2005, p. 27).
This recreational center offered various programs and learning-to-swim courses for different kinds of water activities. There are also other types of recreational activities and programs, and one of them is Neighborhood Leaf Out Program consisting in “overall greening of Santa Clarita through educational programs, tree plantings, and proper maintenance of trees” (City of Santa Clarita, 2010).
Attractions
The City of Santa Clarita has a lot of outstanding attractions. Among them is Six Flag Magic Mountain, the most well-known spot known by tourists (Wai, 2005). It is a theme park known for the collection of extreme rides. Aside from the recreational facilities, the city has a lot of museums and parks, historical and natural spots.
A special consideration deserves William S Hart Park and Museum, a mansion including an outstanding collection of the actor’s furnishings, Native American artifacts, and elements of Western art. Rancho Camulos Museum is National Historic sightseeing displaying the history of California. The landmark preserves the originality of Santa Clarita’s rural style environment.
Unique features
The major part of Santa Clarita’s buildings was erected in the 60s of the past century. However, the 90s saw another housing boom. Because housing prices are relatively reasonable, Santa Clarita is considered to be one of the fastest growing cities due to its rural location. The city also refers to one of the safest places to live in California (Wai, 2005, p 74).
Zoning
The City of Santa Clarita is composed of the following zones (See Appendix 1):
- Open Space;
- Residential Estate;
- Residential Planned Development (involving Residential Suburban, Residential Moderate, Residential Medium High and Residential High);
- Commercial Neighborhood (Brotzman and Webber, 2010).
Economic Activities
Major employment sectors (retail shops and manufacturers)
The employment is mostly concentrated in recreation zones where the major part of profit comes from the tourist business. In this respect, Six Flags Magic Mountains is in the lead of the employment, counting 4.500 workers (Santa Clarita.com, 2010). Other profitable zones are affiliated to Touring company Princess Cruises, Hero Mayo Newhall Hospital, HR Textron, etc. (Santa Clarita.com, 2010).
Major corporations
The city is also proud of aerospace manufacturing, bio-medical production, entertainment, and technology businesses. The former is one of the leading industries in California, providing prestigious jobs and high salaries (Santa Clarita.com, 2010). The aerospace production includes such branches as B & B Manufacturing, Woodward HRT, and Aerospace Dynamics International.
Biomedical production is divided into several prosperous biomedical businesses, including Advanced Bionics, Bioness, Apex Medical, Boston Scientific, and Neotech Products (Santa Clarita.com, 2010). Entertainment and technology segments can also be considered as highly developed zones of the city.
Tourism
Magic Mountain
As it has been mentioned before, the Magic Mountain is the main attraction and the main employer in Santa Clarita. It is regularly visited by tourists from all over the world (Wai, 2005).
Golf Courses
The City of Santa Clarita and neighboring districts, including Los Angeles, have numerous golf courses. In particular, it provides a Play Putt-Putt course at Mountasia Family Center (Santa Clarita Guide, 2005).
Resorts
Most of Santa Clarita resorts are often associated with recreational programs designed for tourists. Those resorts include Magic Mountains, Disneyland, and other recreational complexes (Santa Clarita.com). However, there are some fishing spots located in the Santa Monica Pier, in the Northern part of Santa Clarita (Wai, 2005, p. 228).
Appendix 1
Reference list
Brotzman, P. D., and Webber L. M. (2010). City of Clarita Staff Report. Master case 10-048. pp. 1-9.
City of Santa Clarita (2010). Neighboring Leaf Out Program. Web.
City of Santa Clarita (2010). Santa Clarita Attractions. Web.
City-Data.com (2003). Santa Clarita, California. Web.
Gould, R. (2005). Santa Clarita, California. Public Management, 87, p. 27
Jonson, B., and Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. (2009). Santa Clarita Valley. US: Arcadia Publishing.
Santa Clarita Guide (2005). Golf. Web.
Santa Clarita.com (2010). Major Employers in Santa Clarita. Web.
US Census Bureau (2000). State and County Quick Facts. Web.
Wai, J. (2005). Newcomer’s Handbook For Moving To And Living In Los Angeles: Including Santa Monica, Pasadena, Orange County, And The San Fernando Valley. US: First Book.