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The city of San Jose is known as the capital of the Silicon Valley. Population wise, it is one of the top three largest cities in California. The city of San Jose is known for its high living costs. In the later part of the 20th century, it became known as the capital of the Silicon Valley because many of the largest tech companies at the time had their headquarters in the area. Since it is located near the bay, the climate for most of the year is warm and sunny. It is relatively landlocked, since it is surrounded by mountains on three of its four perimeters.
San Jose is home to some well known universities, such as San Jose State University, and California State University East Bay. Other schools in the nearby region include UC Berkeley, Stanford University, and San Francisco State University. San Jose is home to technology companies such as Adobe, eBay, and nearby Apple. Traffic in the area increased majorly due to the settling of these companies in the area in the late 1990s. The city of San Jose is now known as the city with the highest mean income per family in all the United States.
In July of 2015, Apple computers bought the rights to a 40 acre site in San Jose, at the cost of $139 million. The downtown area of San Jose holds some of Silicon Valley’s most attractive landmarks, such as the Tech Museum, and the San Jose Museum of Art. Downtown San Jose is located near the San Jose International Airport. Because of this, the buildings in Downtown San Jose have a height restriction. Public art is becoming a more and more enticing part of the city.
San Jose was one of the first cities to adopt a public art ordinance at around 2% of building projects. The crime rate in San Jose was formerly lower than many other California cities. This was until 2013, when crime rates in the city rose higher than the national average. The library system is unique to San Jose. Public transportation in the area is plentiful. Most transport is handled by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Light rail is one of the most polar forms of transport in the Bay Area.
The system resembles that of an above-ground subway. As of 2014, all VTA light-rail systems offered free WIFI on board. The downtown area began offering a free wireless connection. San Jose has around 16,000 acres of outdoor recreation areas. One of the cities most known parks is the Alum Rock park, established in the mid 19th century. The area of San Jose has an expansive freeway system. San Jose is one of the largest cities that does not have a large interstate. The 101 freeway runs through San Jose, connecting it with a direct route to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the Central California Coast. The city of San Jose recycles more than half to its solid waste, making it a very eco-friendly city.