The pandemic upset the old equilibrium between high and low, and downtown San Francisco is a radically different place today than it was just a few years ago. The basic reasons are financial. From the beginning of the 00s, the city center experienced a technological boom. Big companies like Yelp, Twitter, Uber and Airbnb moved in from the Silicon Valley, mainly because it's more fun to work downtown and nice to live in the beautiful log cabins on the hills above the Mission or at Haight-Ashbury. Which led to the rents skyrocketing.
When Covid-19 and America shut down, especially the crowded big cities, nothing was the same. San Francisco's tech workers began working remotely. Many moved from the city, some far away, but most to one of the leafy suburbs of Neid. The big companies canceled their contracts in the center, whereupon rents plummeted.
The restaurants and shops lost their clientele. H&M already left during the pandemic, Uniqlo, Gap, Macy's, Nordstroms soon after. Adidas and North Face closed their flagship stores in spring 2024. All that remained were mostly the addicts and vagrants who practically took over the street scene completely. The risk that the trend, combined with increased crime, will continue is high, although crime has decreased in the past year and politicians hope that the crime trend heralds a recovery for the city as a whole.
Sweden has similar problems to San Francisco with escalating crime and insecurity. To bring back pedestrians and increased economic activity, safety must first be restored.
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