As a geographic area, Southeast San Diego refers generally to the southeastern-most portion of the City of San Diego, and refers to those neighborhoods south of State Route 94 (Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway) and east of Downtown San Diego. There are three official community planning areas: Skyline-Paradise Hills, Encanto Neighborhoods, and Southeastern.Largely urbanized in the areas nearer Downtown San Diego to the west and characteristically hilly, with lower-density residential and semi-rural neighborhoods toward the east, it is economically and ethnically diverse.In 1992, Councilman George Stevens campaigned against any official usage of the name "Southeast San Diego," since the designation had long been viewed as shorthand for the community as being a crime-ridden and impoverished. His campaign was successful and all official use of "Southeast San Diego" has been discontinued by the city. Many residents and locals however, still refer to the area as "Southeast."GeographyHistorically, Southeast San Diego had been represented as the communities directly east of the downtown area which lies south of State Route 94 Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, west of California State Route 125, east of Interstate 5, north of California State Route 54 and sharing its borders with surrounding cities of San Diego County National City to the south, Lemon Grove to the northeast, and Spring Valley to the east.
