The San Diego-Tijuana region has many shared assets. While not immune to economic challenges, both communities have relatively low levels of unemployment compared to other metropolitan areas in North America. According to the 2000 Census, San Diego’s poverty rate (12%) was below the California state average. The region is also strategically located next to one of the fastest growing consumer markets in North America—Southern California—and is within close proximity to the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach and Ensenada to facilitate exports to Asia and beyond. Additionally, the region boasts fine educational institutions, recreational options, open space and a quality of life that is unmatched.

Tijuana, for its part, offers the region many key assets including an abundant pool of competitively priced and skilled labor, affordable housing (relative to San Diego), culturally competent and affordable health care (again, relative to San Diego), close proximity and accessibility to the port of Ensenada, and an airport with daily flights to all major cities in the Republic of Mexico and a critical mass of multi-national corporations with a manufacturing/assembly operation presence. Thanks, in part, to Tijuana’s strategic advantages and proximity to San Diego, Sony came to this region in the early 1970s and is now one of San Diego’s largest private employers, employing 3,500 people locally with another 4,500 professional and line workers in Tijuana.33 Thanks to Tijuana’s proximity to San Diego there are now several other companies that have a local San Diego presence including: Sanyo, Samsung, Kyocera, Altaris Medical Systems, JVC, International Rectifier, Avery-Dennison, Hyundai, and Pioneer Speakers. In the area of tourism, Tijuana’s close proximity to San Diego continues to provide visitors with an additional reason to come to our region. Tijuana is now also considered to be among the most prosperous metropolitan regions in Mexico with a thriving arts and cultural climate that is attracting attention among the arts community around the world. Tijuana’s civil society, while still nascent, is becoming stronger with over 300 non- profit organizations and a community foundation, Fundacion Internacional de la Comunidad (FIC), now serving the entire state of Baja California.

For its part, San Diego is ranked among the most livable cities in the United States. According to the fourth annual Forbes/Milken Institute survey, San Diego was ranked #1 as "the most diversified high-tech economy in the U.S.," 34 San Diego and Boston also tied for third among America's most creative cities (with more than 1 million population). In 2002, San Diego ranked 4th nationally in terms of net employment growth with a 17.8% rise in overall job gains.35 San Diego’s academic institutions, in particular UCSD and SDSU, have provided area employers with a ready pool of skilled workers as well as research that has spawned various locally grown companies in the areas of wireless communications and biotechnology. San Diego is also recognized the world over as a major tourism and convention destination. In 2002 San Diego received over 26.2 million visitors spending in excess of $5 billion. 52 mega conventions and trade shows were also held in San Diego that year bringing in over 331,000 convention delegates to the region.36

Beyond strategic assets, the private sector in both San Diego and Tijuana are also working together to collectively respond to regional issues such as border delays and the proposed US VISIT program. Here the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce has provided real leadership to educate civic leaders in both San Diego and Tijuana about the potential risks of proceeding forward with a land border-based visa exit program without adequate funding and infrastructure. Civic organizations are also weighing in on issues related to energy security with the recent construction of a gas powered plant in Mexicali and the proposed plans for liquefied natural gas facilities near Ensenada. Here Tijuana Trabaja has provided leadership in highlighting the need for greater community dialogue on binational issues related to natural gas.

The level of civic engagement between San Diego-Tijuana has also been enhanced thanks to the work of the San Diego Dialogue over the past decade, particularly on the issue of border crossing delays. Significant strides have also been made by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to convene key policymakers through its Committee on Binational Regional Opportunities (COBRO) on a wide range of cross-border issues related to transportation infrastructure, border crossings, health, and the environment. Sign On San Diego and Tijuana’s daily newspaper Frontera are also helping to improve the level of cross-border news and information through an innovative content sharing initiative aimed at improving outreach to the region’s trans-border community.

Collaboration has also begun between the County of San Diego, the Municipality of Tijuana and their corresponding environmental agencies, including the U.S. EPA, specific to emergency planning and response for the San Diego-Tijuana border region, and there are future plans to include the collaboration of the non govern-mental sector specific to community responses for specific
emergencies or crisis (e.g. chemical spill, bio-terrorism attack, or an earthquake).

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