With over 1.3 million residents, San Diego is the eighth largest city in the United States and the second largest in California. With its many beaches and some of the most temperate year-round climate in the country, the city is a popular destination for tourists as well as permanent transplants from other regions. This magnetic quality has also resulted in a composition of many culturally and socioeconomically diverse communities. Home to five public and dozens of private colleges and universities, San Diego is also renowned for education and cutting-edge advances in medical, technological, and other sciences. As a very large and influential municipality that continues to expand and change, the city presents with unique challenges of scope that make innovative and sustainable approaches to growth and livability essential to its continued success.