California's Best and Worst Downtowns

What are the best big-city downtowns in California? What are the worst? Here's one highly subjective take from a publication that covers California planning all the time.

"Within most states, there is little competition among big city downtowns because most states have only one or two big cities. California has no fewer than 11 cities of at least 300,000 people. (From north to south: Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana and San Diego.) Some of these are world-class cities with dynamic downtowns. Some of these are the butts of many jokes. Some are both."

"Determining the "best" downtowns is, of course, entirely subjective. Sure, you could count the number of jobs or museums or nightclubs with live music. But simply selecting the quantifier is a subjective exercise. Determining the "best" downtown is more of a seat-of-the-pants exercise. What does it feel like to be there?"

Thanks to Bill Fulton