When I was growing up in the Bay Area, Alviso had the reputation of being a historical oddity, an out of the way place that time had passed by. In the 1980s, Highway 237 was not yet a freeway and I remember greenhouses along the road. Today, both sides of Highway 237 have modern office buildings, but the core part of Alviso hasn’t changed.

After my visit to the baylands at the Alviso County Park, I wondered why Alviso hasn’t been developed. Some quick research revealed Alviso is below sea level and prone to flooding so new residential development is restricted.