Here is an interesting article from a year ago about how San Francisco became a failed city.
I thought a couple of points about addicts and homeless from around the country flocking there because of all of the free services available to them were interesting. Also, these activists are getting them killed.
And how it could recover
www.theatlantic.com
Failed city…that’s dumb. That’s a term one would use for Port au Prince.
I can say with certainty that San Francisco
is way “nicer” and more upscale than it was circa 1989.
Some big reasons there’s no affordable housing (one of the biggest issues) are:
1. Lots of SRO’s and public housing was torn down and or converted into condos in the late 90’s early 2000’s tech boom. That housing stock was never replaced as far as I know.
2. Everyone wants to own or live a 2-3 story flat in a neighborhood of 2-3 story flats.
3. It’s completely built out.
4. Short term rentals.
The primary reason the city budget and downtown areas are in trouble as far as I can tell are because the people who ran the city for many years went all in with tech, even going as far as giving firms like Twitter massive tax breaks.
So yeah. From where I sit crony capitalism and a high concentration of billionaire assholes with money to burn, not “liberal policies” are the root of many of SF’s problems.