“You’ve read the headlines, you’ve seen the tweets, now get close and personal to the doom and squalor of downtown San Francisco,” is written on the Doom Loop Tour tickets.
Symbolized by empty office buildings being vacated after the pandemic, “doom loop” is a term news anchors use to describe the economic struggles that San Francisco faces today as a direct impact of COVID-19. As the workforce shifts back to in-person, many are hesitant to come back, leading to office buildings being vacant.
Aaron Belling, a real estate agent and native San Franciscan, has personally observed the change the city has gone through in recent years, with his experience in real estate he’s built a strong perspective about the impacts of COVID-19 on the city.
“Nobody was going to work [during the pandemic] and everyone was working from home, like downtown SOMA [the South of Market neighborhood], the financial district, etc,” Bellings said. “It was a ghost town—there were no people and there was no activity.”
Moreover, the cost of living in SF is much higher, according to CNBC the city was considered the 3rd most expensive city nationally. With the nature of less job security and commute to work the prospect of living in the city decreased.
Tomi Lahren, who hosts an evening show on Fox News, talked about a new tourism attraction in SF called the Doom Loop Tour run by an anonymous local.
“Tourists can get a first-hand look at sidewalk feces, homeless encampments, open air drug markets and more, all while dodging needles.” Lahren says.
Lahren then continues to make a political take on the issue.
“You’ve seen it on the news, you’ve heard the stories of liberal city rot, but if you wanted to see it up close and personal without moving to one of these hellholes, now you can,” Lahren said.
Despite news anchors pushing this narrative, locals don’t agree and are fighting to dismantle these narratives.
“Is there a problem in San Francisco? Yes, absolutely” Bellings said. “…But no one’s ever gonna talk about the positives…All people want to talk about are the different crises, the different craziness… So, are they fair? Absolutely not.”
However, not all Bay Area residents share the same opinion. Samantha Fan drives to San Francisco regularly and has commented on her perspective of the struggles the city is going through.
“I feel like there is an injustice happening and that the federal government is responsible for putting more money into San Francisco,” Fan said.
Fan acknowledges that despite SF’s 14.6 billion dollar budget for the 2023-25 fiscal year, its efforts are left inadequate.
“It’s not enough, they need to put it in the right places. Even though they have this massive budget, it’s not doing anything,” Fan said.
According to the U.S. Census, the population of San Francisco decreased 7.5 percent from 2020 to 2022. Calling this phenomenon the “doom loop” has a negative connotation that doesn’t fare well with the reality of residents simply leaving because of the no commute.
Accepting the impacts COVID-19 has had on a city’s economy without making a dramatic spectacle of it is an important step in moving forward, Bellings said
“I would encourage anyone that hasn’t been to San Francisco recently to come and visit.” Bellings said.“I think they’re gonna find out that it’s not nearly as bad as everybody makes it out to be.”