A postcard from San Francisco….
A series of blogs by a planner in California, Nevada and Louisiana….
An adventuring planners view on social housing issues in San Francisco…. Having commenced my adventure in San Francisco, I was struck by the fact that it was once a city of boundless promise but now finds itself today in the grip of a profound housing crisis. San Francisco was born of the Gold Rush and remade by waves of immigration and innovation, the city has always been a magnet for those seeking fortune and freedom and now at the centre of the AI revolution, the array of self-driven cars are remarkable. Yet, also in the twenty-first century, its prosperity has seemingly bred deep contradictions.
The booming technology industry has drawn immense wealth, but it appears that housing construction has lagged far behind demand. Spiralling rents and property prices have rendered much of the city unaffordable for ordinary workers. Teachers, service staff, and even middle-class professionals often find themselves priced out of the very city in which they serve.
On two levels, it was quite shocking to see the result of this so visibly, troublingly with such an obvious and relevant amount of homelessness. This is troubling on a practical and also on a human level.
Having travel extensively in places such as north and sub-Saharan Africa and India to name but a few, I am used to seeing people with financial, social and mental health and substance issues, but the extent of tents and encampments line pavements, was a stark reminder of the significant numbers of people excluded from the prosperity around them. It was shocking to see the level of people in such dire conditions. The issues seemed to me, to not merely be one of shelter, but of public health, dignity, and social cohesion. Many of the people seemed to be shadows of themselves, I feel ‘zombies’ wandering aimlessly in their malaise of confusion, so sad and unsettling to see on a humane level. Spirits and souls so destroyed you can only hope there is someone left inside…
Efforts by the city authorities to address the crisis, I am sure through affordable housing initiatives and support services, can only be struggling to keep pace with the sheer scale of the problem…
As I move on to my next destination, I feel that San Francisco stands today as a city of paradox: a beacon of innovation shadowed by deep inequality. As a planner my social conscience cannot help but note that unless the housing question is resolved, the city’s story will continue to be marked as much by displacement and despair as such as by its glossy and celebrated achievements…
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