While in San Diego, I took a survey of the latest downtown buildings, which there are a-plenty. San Diego in blossoming boom town, one not so unlike Dallas in the 80's and Atlanta in the 90's. But instead of oil and fiber-optic communications driving growth, city expansion is being driven by retiring Baby Boomers. It's about the time that leading edge Boomers have made their fortunes and are tired of living in frigid Boston and New York and Chicago. They are looking for some place warm and sophisticated to spend their golden years.

Well, San Diego is by all means trying to attract these people by giving them the best of what they had back home. Seeing as how there is a limited amount of space and water in this Southern California paradise, supply and demand will determine that only the wealthiest folks will be able to afford to live here. The city knows that it has to be competitive, because the most well-to-do people will only come if there is a refined and accommodating culture in place. So, San Diego is rapidly transforming itself from the sleepy military town it once was into an urban oasis filled with some of the best and most exciting architecture around.