INLAND AREAS: BAKERSFIELD AND SACRAMENTO
Bakersfield is actually quite a large city in the Central Valley located near the Southern end of California. The population is 2008 was near 328,692; it is the 11th largest and fastest growing city in California. It is the 58th largest California city in the U.S., making it “the third largest inland city, after Fresno and Sacramento” (www.wikipedia).
The topography of an area is one of the things that fascinate me, for I wonder if that is one reason why people choose to live where they do, or if they choose a city for economic reasons like the cost of living. Bakersfield was just a town I passed through on my way to and from Los Angeles, and I never really knew that much about it. Since I am attending school in Los Angeles, I decided I would like to acquaint myself with the area, population, and diversity among the residents that occupy this region. Bakersfield is a dry area with hot summers and rainy winters. I found out through my research that Bakersfield is considered “one of the sunniest cities in the United States” (www.wikipedia).
Bakersfield is also a unique region, for many types of crops can be grown in the mild climate. Bakersfield only receives about 10 inches of rain a year so many consider it to be desert. I found it interesting that Bakersfield was ranked as “the most ozone-polluted city in the nation in 2006” by the American Lung Association, and I wondered if that was due to all the chemicals that are sprayed on the crops. Bakersfield “was also ranked as the second-most polluted cit in terms of both short-term and year-round particle pollution” (www.wikipedia). So, knowing this, why would anyone want to live in such a polluted, large hot, inland city? As my research progressed, I realized that California houses many farmers and agricultural workers, and is one of the cheaper areas to purchase a home in California. Maybe that is why it is the 11th most populated inland city in California, for people can feel like they have achieved the American dream of owning a home while working in diverse areas of agriculture. There seems to be a large amount of jobs ranging from CEO’s of agricultural companies to field hands that tend to the picking and harvesting of all the agriculture throughout the area. “Midway Sunset Field is the largest farming area in California and the third largest in the Unites States” (www.wikipedia).
For a sports fan like myself, there is no baseball team, and the nest inland city I choose does not have a baseball team either, but it is also highly populated and is called the capital of California. Sacramento, California is the fifth most “livable regions in America, and the city was cited by Time magazine as America’s most integrated” (www.wikipedia). I wonder what makes Sacrament the fifth most livable place, so let’s take a field trip and find out.
It is the cultural and economic center with a diverse population housing 2,136,604 residents. I wonder if one of the reasons had to do with the gold rush. During the time of the California Gold Rush, Sacrament o had swarms of diverse populations searching and panning for gold. It was one of the major commercial and agricultural centers, and when many did not strike it rich, I wonder if they settle there, broke and looking for work in order to survive. Maybe the residents decided just to stay there, for they had no money for travel or relocation transportation. Sacramento was growing so fast and opportunities were available with river jobs, like riverboats, or the Pony Express; I also learned that Sacramento had the first Transcontinental Railroad. With river, land, and train travel, jobs were plentiful.
The reason I choose these two inland cities, is because I would never have thought that such a diverse group occupied these areas. I thought of Bakersfield as a place that farmers would live, and I believed that Sacramento housed more political figures and economists. Sacramento has a very indigenous culture, and I believe it is due to the California Gold Rush days.
On Ryan’s blog I noticed he also did Sacramento and Bakersfield like me, and we each saw similarities regarding the fact that both are agricultural areas housing diverse cultures. I, like Ryan, also wondered why Sacramento was chosen as the State Capital. I also knew that both did not have professional baseball teams, and I knew that Sacramento has what is called a Farms baseball team, but not a professional team. I really don’t know why Sacramento does not. Possibly they do not have professional baseball teams because Los Angeles and San Francisco do?
Works Cited
www.wikipedia.com
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