I’ve always loved San Francisco. It’s not just about the proximity of Silicon Valley, or that it has the best burger place ever (if you know, you know). Sure, the cable cars are nice to ride, even if the steep streets are slightly unsettling. And the ability to jump into a robotaxi on a whim appeals to the techie in me. But that’s not why I like it.
The main appeal of San Francisco, for me, has always been that it is a city that knows how to rebound.
Many of the reasons it has needed to have been caused by events beyond its control: an earthquake that levelled sections of the city; the dot-com bust; and the financial crisis that struck in the past two decades.
Now it must to do it again, largely due to the lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic. As the office work became remote, so too did the streets of the city. With them went the businesses that depend on regular footfall, with retailers such as Nordstrom and Lululemon leaving the downtown area. Macy’s announced it would close its Union Square store as soon as it found a buyer.
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The doomsayers were out in force. San Francisco was done, over. There was no coming back from this one.
That is an exaggerated opinion. Having spent a few days there recently, I can see the difference in the pre-pandemic city. It’s not bad, just quiet. The new office campuses in the south of the city are shiny and clean, but the streets are emptier than you would expect.
Even in the more tourist areas, such as Fisherman’s Wharf, it was almost deserted nearing lunchtime.
There are parallels to be drawn here with Dublin. The capital city has been accused of going into decline in recent years, with rising crime and a housing crisis contributing to a feeling of a city that has lost its way.
Like San Francisco, the capital has made itself a hub for tech companies. That makes the workforce vulnerable to the whims of the sector, as we have seen when tech companies rowed back on employment in 2022 and 2023. But unlike the US city, many of the big tech employers here are not home-grown. They may have put down roots and invested money in building their operations, but that adds another layer of uncertainty when you take into account the shifting investment priorities of multinationals.
San Francisco has a well-documented housing crisis and it is expensive to buy or rent in the Bay Area. Dublin has its problems on that front. A quick check on Daft.ie or MyHome.ie will generate two-bedroom apartments up for rent in the city centre for about €3,000. They’re not particularly luxurious either; apartments described as “luxury” will set you back north of €3,500 a month.
And if you plan on buying, strap yourself in for a wild ride. The houses that are seemingly within your price range will eventually sell for €90,000 to €100,000 over asking price, or more. You will find yourself in an online bidding war with Bidder7239, in what feels like the world’s worst eBay auction – if you win, you get to saddle yourself with debt for the next 30 years.
There have been complaints about crime levels, anecdotally, some of which are backed up by official figures. The Central Statistics Office data show increases in certain types of crime in the capital, with public order offences up 13 per cent last year. Only robberies and drug offences showed a decline.
San Francisco is short about 500 police officers; last year, Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews called out Dublin’s “chronic” shortage of gardaí, saying it was creating “no-go” areas in the city for tourists and families.
It doesn’t help that large swathes of Dublin city feel empty much of the time. Office vacancy rates are about 13.5 per cent, below the national average but high enough to give people pause for thought.
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So what can be done? San Francisco has a plan. When Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison were joined at Sessions by the city’s new mayor, things seemed upbeat. Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie outlined his plan to revitalise a city that has been viewed in terminal decline, from recruiting more police officers to opening up new places to help people on the streets who need healthcare and drug rehabilitation.
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There are designated entertainment areas in an attempt to keep people in the city after hours. The latest initiative is the SF Downtown Development Corporation, which is bringing private capital and civic expertise together to bankroll long-term economic development in the central business district.
Many of the policies implemented by the new mayor, Daniel Lurie, are viewed as extensions of his predecessor’s plans. But regardless, Lurie is making a difference in the opinion polls, with an increased number of people saying they are more positive about the city’s prospects.
And it is all about perception, isn’t it? Well, perception, a workable plan and most of all, money. There’s a lot more of that floating around San Francisco. Perhaps Dublin needs to take a leaf from San Francisco and tap into the tech wealth to help regenerate the city for people, and by extension, the businesses that depend on it.
