East Palo Alto (often called EPA or East PA) is a city located in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 29,506. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of San Francisco and San Jose. To the east is the San Francisco Bay, and to the west the prosperous city of Palo Alto. Many assume that East Palo Alto is merely the eastern side of Palo Alto, but East Palo Alto is in fact a separate city in Santa Clara County's neighboring San Mateo County - with an entirely different demographic make-up. Though the two cities are separated only by the Bayshore Freeway (U.S. Highway 101), they are worlds apart.

Although half of East Palo Alto's residents were African Americans in 1990, Latinos quickly moved in and now form about three-fifths of the total population, while the proportion of African Americans has dwindled to about 20%. A small Tongan population is also found in East Palo Alto.

East Palo Alto has an unenviable reputation for crime and poverty, a reputation well deserved during the 1980s (for several years the city had the highest per-capita murder rate in the country). Since then the city's problems have eased, although the enormous prosperity which gripped the Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s largely passed East Palo Alto by. Eventually, however, the Peninsula's shortage of land and soaring property prices meant that even East Palo Alto became an option for urban regeneration.

Significant gentrification occurred there from around 2000, with the construction of a large shopping center (including branches of Home Depot and Best Buy, and a controversial IKEA store) and several upscale housing communities (intended for high-earning Silicon Valley workers). This gentrification has faced local opposition. Some charge that it serves to price locals out of one of the region's only affordable communities while providing only low-paying jobs in the retail developments and consuming an increasing proportion of the tiny city's land area.

East Palo Alto also controls a small piece of land across the Bayshore Freeway from the shopping center, which was formerly a slum known as Whiskey Gulch. The city has torn down Whiskey Gulch and replaced it with the University Circle office complex. A 200-room Four Seasons hotel is scheduled to open in University Circle in mid-2005 to serve the Silicon Valley market. The new hotel is being promoted as the most lavish and luxurious full-sized hotel available in the mid-Peninsula and West Valley area. There are several existing luxury hotels in the area, but they are quite small in comparison to their competitors in San Francisco and San Jose.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.7 km² (2.6 mi²). 6.6 km² (2.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.78% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 29,506 people, 6,976 households, and 5,273 families residing in the city. The population density is 4,467.6/km² (11,585.5/mi²). There are 7,091 housing units at an average density of 1,073.7/km² (2,784.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 26.98% White, 23.03% African American, 0.83% Native American, 2.23% Asian, 7.63% Pacific Islander (mainly Tongan immigrants), 34.73% from other races, and 4.56% from two or more races. 58.79% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 6,976 households out of which 47.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% are married couples living together, 19.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 24.4% are non-families. 18.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 4.20 and the average family size is 4.64.

In the city the population is spread out with 35.0% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 32.6% from 25 to 44, 14.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 26 years. For every 100 females there are 106.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 107.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $45,006, and the median income for a family is $44,342. Males have a median income of $26,631 versus $27,044 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,774. 16.2% of the population and 13.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 16.6% of those under the age of 18 and 10.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External link

• East Palo Alto City Council website

External links