{"id":662039,"date":"2026-03-17T12:54:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/662039\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T12:54:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:54:44","slug":"could-streetcar-era-neighborhoods-hold-clues-to-san-diegos-housing-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/662039\/","title":{"rendered":"Could streetcar-era neighborhoods hold clues to San Diego\u2019s housing shortage?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>View of exterior of Mary and Mark E. Young residence at 3453 Cromwell Place in Normal Heights with automobile parked in driveway on left and family sitting on ground on driveway by shrubs in front of residence in about 1936. The automobile is a 1936 Cadillac. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

Walking Through History<\/p>\n

Wandering the streets of South Park or Kensington feels like stepping back in time. Craftsman bungalows, Spanish Revival homes, and courtyard apartments reflect the streetcar era that shaped the city. Trees shade the sidewalks, corner shops invite neighbors to linger, and the streets remain human\u2011sized.<\/p>\n

Today, these neighborhoods are doing more than preserving charm \u2014 they could help address San Diego\u2019s ongoing housing shortage. An independent study commissioned by Save Our Heritage Organisation<\/a> and prepared by PlaceEconomics<\/a> found that historic districts are denser, more affordable, and growing faster than many other neighborhoods. They have roughly twice as many residents per square mile as other residential areas, produce more accessory dwelling units, maintain lower average rents, and support increasing homeownership among non-White residents. Pre\u20111970 housing stock accounts for a larger share of rental units affordable to households earning less than 80 percent of the median income.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Burlingame Street scene c. 1913 (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

These numbers aren\u2019t just statistics\u2014they reflect streets, homes, and communities that have been shaping San Diego for more than a century.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>View of a two-story residence that became Mission Realty Co. at 1322 Granada in Golden Hill in 1913. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

These neighborhoods didn\u2019t just appear\u2014they were deliberately built during San Diego\u2019s first major housing booms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. South Park, laid out around 1905, grew along streetcar lines that connected residents to downtown. Its compact lots, tree-lined avenues, and front porches created a walkable, community-focused environment where families could meet neighbors and children could play safely in the street.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Kensington residence, 1934. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

Kensington, established in the 1910s and 1920s, was marketed as a \u201cgarden suburb,\u201d with winding streets, landscaped lots, and hilltop views. Families were drawn to the mix of small cottages and larger homes, local shops, schools, and parks that made the neighborhood feel self-contained yet connected to the city.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Victorian home at 26th and Broadway, Golden Hill, c. 1890\u20131892. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

Golden Hill grew around streetcar lines, providing affordable housing for working families, while Burlingame offered small apartment courts and modest homes catering to middle-class households.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Golden View Apartments, Golden Hill, 2331 E St., c. 1918 (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

Normal Heights grew as a streetcar<\/a> suburb around 1910, its bungalow courts and narrow streets reflecting the practical needs of a growing population. In all these neighborhoods, accessibility, affordability, and a sense of community were built into the streets themselves\u2014a combination that drew residents then and continues to attract them today.<\/p>\n

Streets That Tell Stories<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Six men involved in building residences at Kensington in the 1920s, standing at the first office of Kensington Heights Co., corner of Marlborough and Hilldale, circa 1927. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

South Park\u2019s wide porches and tree-lined avenues continue to create spaces where neighbors meet and children play. Kensington\u2019s winding streets and Spanish Revival homes convey the vision of a \u201cgarden suburb,\u201d offering views, greenery, and a sense of retreat from the city\u2019s bustle. Golden Hill\u2019s compact streets are lined with bungalows and two-story homes, perfect for families working downtown. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>View of South Park under development. A very small building houses the branch office of the Bartlett Estate Company. A man in a derby hat stands at the street corner, and trolley tracks run at the bottom left of the photo. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

Burlingame\u2019s courtyard apartments foster tight-knit communities, while Normal Heights\u2019 bungalow courts and narrow streets reflect practical design for a growing population.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0View of three men standing with San Diego Electric Railway car # 12 at Normal Heights in about 1910. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

Preserving History, Supporting the Future<\/p>\n

Rehabilitation of older buildings produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than demolition, thereby making these neighborhoods environmentally responsible. They embody qualities city planners strive to replicate today: walkable streets, diverse housing types, and compact development that supports community life.<\/p>\n

Bruce Coons, executive director of Save Our Heritage Organisation, said in a news release that the findings challenge the perception that historic preservation limits housing or primarily benefits affluent homeowners. \u201cHistoric neighborhoods <\/a>are not frozen in time,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are some of San Diego\u2019s most dynamic, dense, and economically diverse communities.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Living History<\/p>\n

\"Normal<\/a>The Normal Heights community sight. (Times of San Diego\/ file photo)<\/p>\n

These neighborhoods show that preserving historic character isn\u2019t just about nostalgia. Thoughtful maintenance and adaptive reuse allow older homes and apartments to meet modern needs, keeping streets vibrant and communities connected. They offer lessons for contemporary development: balancing growth with human-scale design, supporting walkability, and maintaining housing that is both attainable and sustainable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Burlingame construction 1913. (Photo courtesy of San Diego History Center\/archive)<\/p>\n

For more history stories, click\u00a0here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

PlaceEconomics. The Urban Vitality Blueprint: A Data-Driven Analysis of Equity, Affordability, and Vitality in San Diego\u2019s Historic Districts. Prepared for SOHO, 2023.
Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO) \u2013 Historic Preservation & Housing in San Diego.
|San Diego History Center \u2013 Photograph Collection & Neighborhood Archives.
Mills Act Program, City of San Diego \u2013 Historic Property Incentives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"View of exterior of Mary and Mark E. Young residence at 3453 Cromwell Place in Normal Heights with…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":662040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,41749,421,23306,3549,7264,7572,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-662039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-america","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-historic","tag-homes","tag-neighborhoods","tag-san-diego","tag-sandiego","tag-study","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116244622404717145","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=662039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/662039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/662040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=662039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=662039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=662039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}