Remote work destroying downtown Los Angeles, San Francisco: study

An aerial view shows the U.S. Bank Tower (L) and other high-rise office buildings that have been mostly absent of workers. Photo credit David McNew/Getty Images

By KNX News 97.1 FM

LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A study from U.C. Berkeley finds central city neighborhoods like downtown Los Angeles, San Francisco, and elsewhere across the country are struggling to recover post-pandemic as foot traffic falls, pointing to the proliferation of remote work.

The study "The Death of Downtown" compared mobile phone data to study people's movements at businesses, restaurants, shops, and other popular spots from 2019 to 2022. Researchers found activity in downtown Los Angeles (#28) has only returned to 61% of the level in 2019. San Francisco (#62) has fared much worse, falling in last place for recovery with only 31% of activity levels compared to three years ago.

Sacramento ranked 16th. Out of the 62 North American cities included in the report, Utah's Salt Lake City is doing the best at recovering.

Researchers pointed to one major factor for a relatively slow recovery — people working from home.

"Recent surveys suggest that remote work will likely be a permanent feature of these types of metros, even under a hybrid model," the authors wrote. "Although many employers are beginning to enforce in-person work requirements, tight labor markets for high-skilled workers mean the employers have little leverage."

The study suggests injecting new ideas into struggling downtown economies as the new work-from-home era takes root: evolve by diversifying economic activity and land uses.

"Downtowns ... need to be proactive about recreating downtowns for people," researchers concluded. "This could mean creating outdoor spaces with cultural events; rethinking streets for transit, bikes and pedestrians; moving parking to the outskirts of downtown; and attracting diverse segments of the population to visit (both in terms of age and race/ethnicity)."

Bakersfield, Calif. earned the second spot for best recovery in the nation. Fresno, Calif. claimed #4, while San Diego claimed #8.

At 78%, New York City claimed the 14th spot. Fort Worth ranked 25th for recovery at 64% returned activity, beating Miami (#24) by one spot. St. Louis claimed #44 with half of its foot traffic returned. Chicago and Detroit helped round out the list at #58 and #59, respectively.

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