I grew up in San Jose and still visit my family there at least once a year. I'm happy that Google is trying to do something in the downtown area instead of somewhere else in the city, but I'll be surprised if they (or any tech company) can really make downtown a place where people want to be. I fear it will continue only to cater to people coming into downtown during the day for work and leaving in the evening.
This area of San Jose could be a great area for people (other than San Jose State students) to actually live and spend time. There are actually public transportation options, and with it's flat landscape, great weather, and surprisingly good bike infrastructure, it should be a very livable and vibrant city center.
With Google there it'll certainly be busier there, and there's obvious benefits for businesses that can cater to those employees. However, it's not clear to me whether there's a clear plan to also develop the city in a way that caters to people outside of tech (e.g., low-income housing initiatives, plans to help reduce traffic, etc.). Long story short, I'm hopeful this doesn't hurt the city in any way, I'm just skeptical that it'll really help, outside of economically.
This area of San Jose could be a great area for people (other than San Jose State students) to actually live and spend time. There are actually public transportation options, and with it's flat landscape, great weather, and surprisingly good bike infrastructure, it should be a very livable and vibrant city center.
With Google there it'll certainly be busier there, and there's obvious benefits for businesses that can cater to those employees. However, it's not clear to me whether there's a clear plan to also develop the city in a way that caters to people outside of tech (e.g., low-income housing initiatives, plans to help reduce traffic, etc.). Long story short, I'm hopeful this doesn't hurt the city in any way, I'm just skeptical that it'll really help, outside of economically.