ABSTRACT
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA One of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions of the United States, the San Francisco Bay Area, by the Pacific Coast in northern California, is home to a population of approximately eight million. The region includes the nine counties that surround the bay: San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, Solano, Napa, and Sonoma. Three large cities-San Francisco, Oakland, and San Josedominate this metropolitan area, which locals refer to as “the Bay Area” with no additional qualifier. At the same time, San Francisco is known locally as simply “the City,” a nickname that suggests its symbolic preeminence.
