San Jose, California Francisco Bay. Santa Clara Valley is the population center of the Bay Area and, like the hub and spokes of a wheel, surrounding communities emanate outwards from the valley. This growth, in part, has shaped the greater Bay Area as it is today in terms of geographic population distribution and the trend of suburbanization away from the valley. There are four distinct valleys in the city of San Jose: Almaden Valley, situated on the southwest fringe of the city; Evergreen Valley to the southeast, which is hilly all throughout its interior; Santa Clara Valley, which includes the flat, main urban
Chinatowns in San Jose Chinatowns in San Jose The city of San Jose was home to five Chinatowns that existed until the 1930s: The city of San Jose is home to 63,434 Chinese Americans according to the 2010 U.S. Census, comprising 6.7% of the city's population. The initial Chinatowns in San Jose were frequently burned down by arson, with artifacts from May 1887 discovered during initial excavations in the construction of the Fairmont Hotel. Many of these artifacts were installed at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, and are housed in the archives of Stanford University. Another Chinatown was excavated during an urban