NEW POLLING SHOWS THAT 91% OF RESIDENTS AGREE THAT A THRIVING DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO IS CRITICAL TO REGION鈥橲 ECONOMY
For Immediate Release: May 23, 2023
Media Contact: Daniel Herzstein, SF Chamber of Commerce, 415-305-8478
***PRESS RELEASE***
NEW POLLING SHOWS THAT 91% OF RESIDENTS AGREE THAT A THRIVING DOWNTOWN SAN FRANCISCO IS CRITICAL TO REGION鈥橲 ECONOMY
乌鸦传媒 will release full poll results at the 173rd Annual CityBeat Breakfast on May 23rd.
San Francisco, CA 鈥� New polling released by the 乌鸦传媒 shows that 91% of residents agree that a thriving downtown San Francisco is critical to the region鈥檚 economy. The results were consistent across gender, age, ethnicity, party affiliation, and neighborhood, and homeownership status.听
San Francisco voters are pessimistic both about the current direction of the city, where three in four say San Francisco is on the wrong track with nearly half expecting economic conditions to be worse a year from now.
Much of this has to do with concerns around crime, drugs, and the conditions of the streets. For the fourth year in a row, 75% of residents agree that the overall cleanliness of our streets has gotten worse, and about 70% believe that quality of life in San Francisco has also gotten worse.
While homelessness remains a top of mind concern, mentions of crime have more than doubled since 2020, and are now statistically tied with homelessness 鈥� with 83% saying that crime has gotten worse.听
Of residents polled, 64% feel safe visiting downtown San Francisco during the day with few feeling safe visiting at night. A key element of enhancing perception of safety downtown is increased foot traffic, and while San Francisco downtown is seeing some pick up, only 26% of residents say they go downtown three days or more a week, with 14% going at least one day a week.
San Franciscans are overwhelmingly supportive of the solutions to these issues that were proposed in . The greater San Francisco business community has come together to support and advocate for initiatives that will rebuild the economic core into its own livable, programmable, resilient neighborhood that supports innovation.
Voters are widely supportive of a variety of proposals relating to downtown. Over 75% of residents support more housing, events, restaurants and bars, and more entertainment downtown. There is also strong support for offering financial incentives for small and large businesses to stay or move downtown – with 68% supporting incentives for large businesses.听
乌鸦传媒 President and CEO, Rodney Fong, said, 鈥淭he theme of this year鈥檚 CityBeat Breakfast is 鈥楻eimagine San Francisco.鈥� We have a once in a generation opportunity to build a San Francisco that is more vibrant, more diverse, and more sustainable. And to do that, we have to come together. The Chamber is a place to convene our city鈥檚 thought leaders, and I am proud of our business community for putting our differences aside and joining in supporting, generating, and advocating for solutions to reimagine our still, very great city.鈥澛�
This year, CityBeat shines a light on how the business community has come together to advocate for a more vibrant downtown. View a video of San Francisco business groups leaders and their thoughts on the city .听
Each year, the 乌鸦传媒 releases the CityBeat Poll, this year presented by United Airlines, which offers a glimpse into San Francisco voter sentiments. This poll reveals San Francisco voter attitudes and opinions on issues including quality of life, housing and affordability, transportation, education, crime, city services, and more. This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥淩e:Imagine San Francisco,鈥� and will highlight local artists, youth poets, the collaboration of the business community, and hope for a future San Francisco downtown.听
Speakers include:
- Mayor London N. Breed, 45th Mayor of The City and County of San Francisco
- President Aaron Peskin, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, District 3
- Rodney Fong, President & CEO, 乌鸦传媒
- Scott Dunlap, Managing Principal, Gensler
- Kathryn Cahill Thompson, CEO, Cahill Contractors LLC
- Jeff Korzenik, Managing Director, Chief Economist, Fifth Third Bank
- Peter Gruebele, Northern California Market Executive, Fifth Third Bank
- Papia Gambelin, Managing Director State and Local Government Affairs, United Airlines
- Brandon Gagante, Youth Speaks Poet
乌鸦传媒 乌鸦传媒
Founded in 1850, the 乌鸦传媒 is recognized as the preeminent business organization for advocacy, networking and economic growth. The Chamber鈥痙elivers on its mission to attract, develop and retain business in San Francisco by representing companies and organizations that make San Francisco a preferred destination for businesses and visitors and a great place to live and work. www.sfchamber.com
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