As Tech Grows, So Does San Francisco's Influence

Nathan Heller illuminates how the tech industry has rendered San Francisco the new "power city" for U.S. economic growth and culture.

1 minute read

October 10, 2013, 8:00 AM PDT

By Lynn Vande Stouwe


Previously, San Francisco was never an "industry town" to the same extent as other major U.S. cities like New York (media and finance) or Los Angeles (entertainment). However, Heller asserts, the ever-expanding role of "tech" in the modern world is changing that:

San Francisco is an industry town. This industry is usually called 'tech,' but the term no longer signifies what it used to. Tech today means anything about computers, the Internet, digital media, social media, smartphones, electronic data, crowd-funding, or new business design.

Heller argues that tech is not just the dominate industry of the San Francisco area, but of the entire country if not the world, and a confluence of entrepreneurs and the venture capitalists who fund them makes the city ground zero for the modern economy and prevailing culture. San Francisco is the new go-to destination for ambitious, creative people, giving rise to ad hoc interdisciplinary incubator spaces and career paths that transcend labels. These places and people are redefining the metropolis, which is no longer "a Dungeness crab of a city, shedding its carapace from time to time and burrowing down until a new shell sets."

Monday, October 14, 2013 in The New Yorker

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Front of Walmart store with sign.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network

The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

May 7, 2025 - Inc.

Aerial view of Albuquerque, New Mexico at sunset.

New State Study Suggests Homelessness Far Undercounted in New Mexico

An analysis of hospital visit records provided a more accurate count than the annual point-in-time count used by most agencies.

May 16 - Source NM

Close-up on white bike helmet lying on pavement with blurred red bike on its side in background abd black car visible behind it.

Michigan Bills Would Stiffen Penalties for Deadly Crashes

Proposed state legislation would close a ‘legal gap’ that lets drivers who kill get away with few repercussions.

May 16 - Wood TV 8

Muni bus on red painted bus-only lane in downtown San Francisco, California.

Report: Bus Ridership Back to 86 Percent of Pre-Covid Levels

Transit ridership around the country was up by 85 percent in all modes in 2024.

May 16 - Mass Transit