Growing up in Santa Barbara, it has been impossible for me to ignore the promise, possibility, and contradictions that define our community.
The housing crisis is pushing out local residents, forcing essential workers to commute long distances, and burdening small business owners with soaring commercial rents. Across our city, the climate crisis has led to skyrocketing insurance rates and increased infrastructure costs. Finally, e-commerce and remote work has strained the commercial real estate industry, imperiling Santa Barbara’s traditional model of economic development.
Santa Barbara’s future vitality depends on making space for younger generations who want to build their lives here — and a walkable, bike-friendly downtown offers immense value for renters, service workers, parents, and young professionals alike.
We cannot rely on big, national retail chains to anchor State Street, nor can we seriously rely on faulty, unsupported claims that car traffic – the most inefficient mode of transportation — can somehow facilitate more consumer activity. Bringing cars back will just bring back cruising, since parking has always been on nearby streets and in garages. A walkable downtown supported by efficient bus, bike, and trolley routes is the sustainable, long-term transportation solution Santa Barbara actually needs.
The real estate industry understands this. Radius Insight’s market research report finds that State Street’s “strategic shift” from “retail-only footprints to mixed-use developments prioritizing education, housing and cultural engagement is exactly the trajectory needed to stabilize the corridor long-term.”
That is why pedestrianizing State Street is so vital. It offers us a chance to lower transportation emissions, support small businesses, and unlock opportunities for equitable economic growth. Building a downtown neighborhood that prioritizes civic spaces, walkability, and mixed-use development will not only reduce pressure to build in fire-prone areas, but also expand affordable housing and revitalize local businesses.
The challenges facing State Street stem from a lack of forward-thinking and ambitious planning. State Street’s empty storefronts aren’t a sign of weak demand—they’re the product of inflated rents and spaces too large for local businesses to fill. Implementation has been stalled not by public disinterest, but by political hesitation and pushback from entrenched property owners.
This absence of innovative, future-oriented thinking is reflected in the actions of the Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement Association (DSBIA), which has begun lobbying against State Street’s pedestrianization.
In the Independent, the DSBIA has argued that State Street’s pedestrianization has reduced visitation and that reintroducing cars would reverse the trend. Unfortunately, the DSBIA’s claims fail to address basic contextual factors and do not properly establish a causal relationship, conflating the effects of pedestrianization with more impactful differences — like the differences in lease rates, space size, and type of commercial spaces between each corridor they examine.
It is largely understood by the real estate industry that certain blocks of State Street — particularly those dependent on large retailers or office tenants — have struggled as national retail and office trends have declined. While this model was successful in the 1990s, it was already on the decline before the pandemic, as consumers were switching to e-commerce and neighborhood retail options. This year, Hayes Commercial Group noted that consumers continued to gravitate toward “neighborhood and grocery-anchored centers” and that businesses have come to favor properties that “support walkability and convenience.”
The right approach is clear. Santa Barbara must adapt commercial properties for mixed use and fully pedestrianize the corridor, turning it into a vibrant neighborhood rather than reopening it to traffic and depriving the community of shared space. It is undeniable, however, that high renovation costs may prompt property owners to favor reintroducing cars over adapting their spaces for small businesses or mixed-use tenants.
We must implement an ambitious, inspiring, and comprehensive revitalization of Santa Barbara’s downtown — not by uncritically accepting the policy prescriptions of those who already have significant influence in the city, but by listening to those often left out of our decision-making processes: renters, service workers, parents, city employees, and young people.
While the city can consider how best to support property owners throughout this transition, we should not discard our comprehensive approach to revitalizing downtown just because a group of commercial property owners want to return to a golden age of retail profitability.
Like many, I want to live in a Santa Barbara that is walkable, affordable, and sustainable — where public space is truly a public good, and where decisions reflect the long-term wellbeing of the community, not just the short-term profits of a few.
Luca D’Agruma is a 20-year-old Santa Barbara resident. He is an advocate for climate action, affordable housing, and equitable economic development.
