Southern Border

Region Overview

The Southern Border, made up of San Diego and Imperial Counties, has much outdoor fun, cultural centers, and deliciously diverse foods representing a distinct region. With its 70 miles of sun-drenched coast, world-renowned San Diego Zoo, and endless art and culture, San Diego embodies “America’s Finest City.” Not to be outdone, Imperial County’s beauty, uniqueness, and undiscovered areas are highlighted by movie-worthy sand dunes, which you can see in several movies, including Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Southern Border is the birthplace of . . .

Innovation

Advanced Nursing Education Nurse Practitioner Residency Integration Program (ANE-NPRIP)

SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District

First Vehicle-to-Grid Project

Innovation

Advanced Nursing Education Nurse Practitioner Residency Integration Program (ANE-NPRIP)

UCSD received a federal HRSA grant to grow the Advanced Nursing Education Nurse Practitioner Residency Integration Program (ANE-NPRIP). This grant will fund the UC San Diego Post-Graduate Community Psychiatry Fellowship program, a 12-month training program that will teach clinicians how to best care for the underserved adult population throughout San Diego County. The program started in January 2021.

SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District

The SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District will enable the university and its partners to help people expand their livelihoods, create new career pathways, and expand the region’s capabilities. Through public-private parternships, the Innovation District will include 1.6 million sq. ft. of office, technology and research space to facilitate internships, grow entrpreneurship and help design unique solutions to significant problems facing the community and broader world.

First Vehicle-to-Grid Project

A collaborative effort between SDG&E, the Cajon Valley Union School District, and the locally-based Cleantech San Diego company, Nuvve, is the first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project to become operational in Southern California. This project will help advance clean air and climate goals while bolstering grid reliability.

Inspiration

Lotus Living Tiny Homes

IV Heber Middle School Career Launch Pad

San Diego for Every child

Inspiration

Lotus Living Tiny Homes

Through a partnership between the city of El Centro, Imperial Valley College (IVC), and the IVC Foundation, the Homekey project built 26 tiny affordable homes to combat housing barriers facing IVC students. As the college had never had housing, the partnership developed “capabilities on the fly such as the ability to coordinate with property management, supportive housing services, and marketing professionals.

IV Heber Middle School Career Launch Pad

The Heber Middle School Launch Pad is being designed and built in partnership with the Imperial County Office of Education, the Imperial County Workforce Development Board (ICWDB), and the Heber Elementary School District to create a center to help K-12 students imagine their future careers. Students can use the test bed to get in touch with their strengths and interests and learn about potential opportunities that match.

San Diego for Every child

San Diego for Every Child’s collaborative program will select 150 families of color, with at least one child under the age of 12, living in San Diego and National City – specifically Encanto, Paradise Hills, National City, and San Ysidro – to receive $500 cash payments for 24 months that can be spent on needs such as food, repairing a car to get to work, and medicine to treat a loved one or rent.

You can go from the beach to the mountains and the desert all in one day on the Southern Border! I love how diverse this region is in landscape, food, industry, ethnicity, and culture; this is home.

Raquel Aparicio, Southern Border RERC

Region By Numbers

Explore these numbers and additional key Southern Border demographic, economic, and business data on the Community & Place-Based Data Tool. Uncover other data tools, regional plans, and resources on the Data & Knowledge Library Page.

Data & Knowledge Library

COMMUNITY & PLACE-BASED DATA TOOL

Population

3,484,466 contacts icon

Total Households

1,204,970

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Total Establishments

150,087

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Educational Attainment

Associate Degree	8%
Bachelor’s Degree	24%
Graduate Degree	15%

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Labor Force

1,785,153

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Regional Contacts

Explore other federal, state, and regional contacts on our community connection page.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

CPBS Regional Economic Recovery Coordinator, GO-Biz

About CPBS

HRTC Contacts

The Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF) will support an inclusive High Road Training Collaborative (HRTC) in this region, in charge of creating economic development recovery and transition strategies. To be a part of this region’s processes to advance economic prosperity and equity, contact the HRTC conveners.

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