Is San Jose a world class city? (San Francisco, Oakland: university, living in)

[the topper]

Is San Jose a world class city? If not, what would it take for San Jose to be a world class city? What will it need to become one?

[neutrino78x]

Silicon Valley is very much a world class city. We are one of the most economically influential and productive regions in the world.

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content...San_Jose-3.pdf

[nightlysparrow]

^^Agree with above, Silicon Valley is known worldwide; specifically San Jose, no.

[mysticaltyger]

No, it isn't world class all by itself.

As part of the larger, SF Bay Area, then yes.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by neutrino78x

Silicon Valley is very much a world class city. We are one of the most economically influential and productive regions in the world.

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content...San_Jose-3.pdf

"Silicon Valley" isn't a city.

I agree the SF bay area is a world class area, but it's the aggregate of the area that makes it that.

SJ by itself? I don't see it.

[BicoastalAnn]

Agree with the others... San Jose by itself, no. What it would take to become a world class city, IMHO, would be more density, diversity of industries, and world class restaurants and cultural attractions... like something on the level of the Met. Things that attract both residents and international tourists alike (and more of it than other areas). I don't really know that I'd consider Seattle world class either though so maybe my standards are narrow. To me, world class = NYC, SF, Paris, London, Tokyo, etc.

[neutrino78x]

You guys who say Silicon Valley is not world class, please read the Brookings report I linked in my previous post and tell me if you disagree with them. Brookings is an internationally renown research center or "think tank".

I think some people are stuck in 1950 when San Jose was a small agricultural community south of San Francisco. Things have changed! We're in "The Information Age" and it is being driven by Silicon Valley. The most successful company in the history of the world is here in Silicon Valley.

The main thing that Silicon Valley lacks is landmarks. But we definitely have cultural institutions. Stanford University, Santa Clara University, San Jose State University. The Tech Museum of Innovation. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. Symphony Silicon Valley. etc.

But Silicon Valley inherits the advantages of San Francisco, and San Francisco inherits the advantages of Silicon Valley. Napa has wineries, the peninsula has biotech, Oakland has one of the busiest and most productive deep water ports in the world, and Silicon Valley has the tech industry. All of them are great on their own and all of them are better because they are close to each other.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by neutrino78x

You guys who say Silicon Valley is not world class, please read the Brookings report I linked in my previous post and tell me if you disagree with them. Brookings is an internationally renown research center or "think tank".

I think some people are stuck in 1950 when San Jose was a small agricultural community south of San Francisco. Things have changed! We're in "The Information Age" and it is being driven by Silicon Valley. The most successful company in the history of the world is here in Silicon Valley.

The main thing that Silicon Valley lacks is landmarks. But we definitely have cultural institutions. Stanford University, Santa Clara University, San Jose State University. The Tech Museum of Innovation. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. Symphony Silicon Valley. etc.

But Silicon Valley inherits the advantages of San Francisco, and San Francisco inherits the advantages of Silicon Valley. Napa has wineries, the peninsula has biotech, Oakland has one of the busiest and most productive deep water ports in the world, and Silicon Valley has the tech industry. All of them are great on their own and all of them are better because they are close to each other.

The question is about SJ specifically. "Silicon Valley" is not a city unto itself - it is a region to which SJ is a part of (as is SF, these days). If you wanted to dig in to the question of "what is silicon valley?", it would be many cities - if you plotted it out geographically as a weighted plot, it would likely be centered on the peninsula (north of SJ, south of SF), probably around Palo Alto/Menlo Park.

People are asking about SJ - you keep responding with "Silicon Valley".

[neutrino78x]

Originally Posted by HockeyMac18

The question is about SJ specifically.

Well then it is a stupid question, because culturally and economically, all the little towns in Santa Clara County are suburbs of San Jose. Just like Silicon Valley is part of the larger region known as The San Francisco Bay Area.

I mean, by this logic, you can't include the wineries in Napa as a benefit of living in San Francisco because Napa is technically not part of San Francisco.

Oakland, Silicon Valley, the Peninsula, Napa and San Francisco are all great regions by themselves, and they are made even greater by their proximity to each other and their integration as one San Francisco Bay Area.

it would likely be centered on the peninsula (north of SJ, south of SF), probably around Palo Alto/Menlo Park.

Nope, the center of Silicon Valley is San Jose. Always has been, always will be.

And Palo Alto IS PART OF SILICON VALLEY. It is not a separate entity. Unless you think Stanford University has no credibility.

History - Part 3 (The Rise of Silicon Valley): Stanford University

Palo Alto is a suburb of San Jose, culturally and economically. Just as San Francisco is the center of the Bay Area, San Jose is the center of Silicon Valley.

[04kL4nD]

[no]