Building a Digital City – San Francisco

Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons from San Francisco

Commissioned by Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Boston Consulting Group set out to
understand the emergence of San Francisco’s technology sector, as well as the challenges
and opportunities it presents to the city. The aim is to uncover insights that can
help other digital cities—and those aspiring to become digital cities—as they grow.

Undeniable Benefits, Pressing Challenges
From an economic standpoint, San Francisco is reaping the rewards of this thriving
sector; the Bay Area boasts the highest GDP per capita in the nation and an
unemployment rate much lower than the national average. At the same time, real
estate affordability is a pressing challenge, for residents and businesses alike, and
there is a fear that wealthy technology workers moving to San Francisco are
squeezing out other residents—threatening to transform a once-diverse city into na
exclusive community.

A Chance to Set the Example
How San Francisco addresses its challenges while maintaining its momentum will
help chart a path for many other cities with similar aspirations. This includes
ensuring that the city infrastructure keeps pace with the growing, changing demands
of a leading economy, and it especially involves the issue of affordability.

Source: Building a Digital City – San Francisco | Mike Bloomberg