SAN JOSE — World Cup watch parties and other major sporting events brought large crowds and rare bursts of energy to downtown San Jose this summer. But a new national ranking underscores the challenge facing city leaders once those events end: turning occasional spectacles into everyday street life.
To be sure, record crowds packed downtown for World Cup watch parties and other major sporting events this year.
Still, downtown San Jose ranked 29th among 34 U.S. downtowns in a survey measuring residents’ perceptions of vibrancy, according to the Gensler Research Institute, which produces data and knowledge about workplace trends, human behavior and design innovation…