Before the pandemic, retail was already in a state of flux. Now COVID-19 has accelerated the urgency of determining how to best support human and economic activity, particularly on main streets and commercial corridors.
Bay Area cities are in the midst of writing new policies and revising existing ones in order to safely and quickly reopen retail stores and restaurants. This policy brief recommends actions for cities to undertake immediately to assist businesses in opening promptly following the gradual lifting of shelter-in-place restrictions.
This set of recommendations does not look at what cities might do to support ground floor activity in the transitional phase after the immediate crisis period, nor does it consider a broader re-envisioning of what the future of the ground floor might look like. SPUR will continue to focus on these issues in the coming months.