Geographic applications on a microcomputer in Santa Clara County

Abstract

Santa Clara County, the home of “Silicon Valley”, is situated at the south end of San Francisco Bay. The County experienced rapid population growth during the last two decades, and now has a population of 1.2 million and employment of nearly 800,000. San Jose, with a population of approximately 660,000 is the largest of 15 cities within the county. The northerly portion of the county is urban, and is the location of Stanford, Santa Clara and San Jose State universities, as well as most of the computer manufacturers. The southerly portion is primarily agricultural; among the major crops are garlic, grapes and mushrooms. In Santa Clara County, city governments generally provide services to property, such as police, fire and development. Educational services are provided by more than 30 school districts, including 4 community college districts. Special districts provide services such as flood control, water importation, sanitation, waste treatment and others. County government is responsible for most of the “people” services in Santa Clara County. The County provides the usual range of health, welfare, justice and general government services provided by county governments in California. In addition, the County operates a major 600-bed hospital with highly specialized services. The County also operates a 700-bus Transit System, participates with a neighboring county and the State in the operation of a commuter railroad, and is planning a 20 mile light rail system to serve dense employment centers. The County operates a library district serving 10 cities and the unincorporated area, and three districts providing fire protection to approximately one-quarter of the population. County government employs approximately 11,000 people. The FY 1984 budget of all funds is a billion dollars, and the General Fund is slightly less than $500 M. A large portion of these resources are funds passed through from state and federal governments for specific health and social service programs, or funds dedicated to specific purposes, such as roads or transit.