Redwood City, CA - Community Project 3 Part 2

1940:

·      No Data

1950:

·      No Data

1960:

·      Population: 5,740

o   96.8% White

o   1.8% Black

o   1.4% Other

·      Income ($):

o   25,000 +: 0.3%

o   15,000-25,000: 2%

o   10,000-15,000 – 21.3%

o   5,000-10,000 – 50%

o   Under 1,000: 3.7%

·      Race/Ethnicity Variables:

o   Income By Race

§  White: 97.6%

§  Non-white: 2.4%

o   Employment (Age 14+)

§  White: 95.8 %

§  Non-white: 4.2 %

1970:

·      Population: 6,545

o   White: 93 %

o   Black: 2.6 %

o   Other: 4.3 %

·      Income ($):

o   25,000-50,000: 1%

o   10,000-25,000: 45%

o   5,000-10,000: 35%

o   Under 1,000: 2.2%

·      Race/Ethnicity Variables:

o   Income By Race ($):

§  White:

·      25,000-50,000: 1.2%

·      10,000-25,000: 45%

·      5,000-10,000: 35%

§  Black:

·      15,000-50,000: 0%

·      10,000-15,000: 25%

·      4,000-10,000: 75%

§  Other:

·      25,000-50,000: 0%

·      10,000-25,000: 35%

·      5,000-10,000: 45%

o   Employment (Age 16 +)

§  White: 93.7%

§  Black: 1.8%

§  Other: 4.5%

1980:

·      Population: 7,169

o   White: 70%

o   Black: 5.5%

o   Other: 24.5%

·      Income ($):

o   50,000 +: 1.5%

o   25,000-50,000: 15%

o   10,000-25,000: 48%

o   5,000-10,000: 20%

·      Race/Ethnic Variables

o   Average Income By Race ($):

§  White: 18,166

§  Black: 11,662

§  Other: 18,110

o   Employment:

§  White: 58%

§  Black: 6%

§  Spanish: 25%

§  Other: 11%

1990:

·      Population: 10,007

o   White: 69%

o   Black: 8.5%

o   Other: 22.5%

·      Income:

o   50,000+: 9%

o   25,000-50,000: 48%

o   10,000-25,000: 36%

o   5,000-10,000:  5%

·      Race/Ethnic Variables:

o   Average Income By Race ($):

§  White: 29,237 (National Avg: 40,307)

§  Black: 29,857 (National Avg: 25,871)

§  Other: 28,153

o   Employment:

§  White: 46%

§  Black: 4%

§  Spanish: 37%

§  Other: 13%

2000:

·      Population: 5,966

o   White: 47.4%

o   Black: 3.1%

o   Other: 49.5%

·      Income ($):

o   100,000 +: 12%

o   50,000-100,000: 32%

o   25,000-5000: 29%

o   10,000-25,000: 17%

·      Race/Ethnicity Variables:

o   Average Income By Race ($):

§  White: 40,042

§  Black: 44,500

§  Hispanic:  42,204

§  Other: 48,333

o   Employment:

§  White: 29%

§  Black: 3%

§  Hispanic: 40%

§  Other: 28%

Redwood City is located in between the two major cities of San Francisco and San Jose, making it a satellite city.  The total population according to the 2010 Consensus is 76,815 people; however, for the purpose of our project we have focused on the specific district that Socialexplorer.com placed my previous home in.  When we first looked at Redwood City there was no information for the 1940’s and 1950’s; however, as the decades went on, Redwood City continued to grow in population.  With the first consensus report being available in 1960, Redwood City had a population of just fewer than 6,000 people.  A majority of the population (96.8%) was white and as the decades went on the white population began to decrease as the black and other ethnicities became more common in the area.  Throughout the decades, the black population slowly increased while the Hispanic population increased greatly.  This is partly due to the increase in business within the city, which enabled people to amass wealth throughout the decades. 

Redwood City developed a main downtown area along Broadway Boulevard.  As Warner notes, the more business that enters into the economy seems to create a new urban element, and therefore creates the modern downtown.  Redwood City soon began to foster business development within its borders and had sections that were specific for retail and corporate use.  These specific sections along a main road – Woodside Road – within the city consisted of office buildings, gas stations, and various other small businesses.  Warner also notes as the city and the new downtown developed, so did the multi-ethnic neighborhoods.  When my father moved to Redwood City in the early 70’s it was also a time when a lot of Hispanic people were also moving into Redwood City.  My father bought a home just on the outskirts of the city in a predominantly white area.  The Hispanic and Black populations typically inhabited the inner core of the city.    During the 70’s, the suburban areas of Redwood City began to develop.  When my father first moved to Redwood City, he told me that there was very little housing in the area because the roads up in the hills of Redwood City were all dirt.  However, with the introduction of the interstate highway, it brought many more jobs and also expanded the suburban residential areas of San Jose and San Francisco. The area (now known as Emerald Hills) became very developed and eventually completely packed full of housing. 

The housing in Redwood City was very typical for California, every house had a garage connected to it and nearly all houses had a driveway and front yard.  Jackson notes this in his essay and I have noticed it throughout all of Redwood City.  Jackson also notes of the importance of the drive in society.  Everywhere in Redwood City there are drive-in restaurants and large-scale grocery stores that had overtaken the small mom and pop stores.  Another staggering surprise was that Redwood City matched up with Jackson’s ideas about a Centerless City.  Between 1990 and 2000 we noticed a huge decrease in population due to the split in districts.   Jackson notes that this was most likely a sub-dividers dream.  It obviously took place a little later than the 70’s or 80’s, but nonetheless, it happened.  My parents eventually moved away from the outskirts of Redwood City and up into Emerald Hills in the early 1990’s.  My parents were able to amass wealth due to the wide variety of jobs that were available to the occupants of the San Francisco Peninsula area.  The decentralization of factories and offices, as well as the growth of the corporate industry, enabled my parents to live outside of Redwood City and commute to work. 

A further look at the stats that we were able to find had to do with the rise in ethnic populations in Redwood City.  The Hispanic migrants, as I have mentioned earlier, became a significant participant in the labor force in Redwood City.  The black population rose a little and the white population decreased significantly over 70 years.  One of the most interesting conclusions we were able to draw regarded the income levels of blacks in Redwood City.  The national average for a black laborer in 1990 was around 25,000; however, in Redwood City the average for a black laborer was over 29,000.  The white labor force income was far less than the national average, most likely due to the fact that a large majority of the white population was able to afford to move to the outskirts of Redwood City.  Incomes of all ethnic groups rose throughout the decades due to the influx of jobs available in the city as well as the creation of interstate highways that allowed residents of particular areas to travel greater distances to work.