OPINION: Long traditions of tolerance, progressive social movements, avant-garde arts and culture are what makes San Francisco special. And none of that can flourish when boom times render The City unaffordable and business pushes out culture.
In the late 1840s, San Francisco, then known as Yerba Buena, was a tiny outpost with fewer than 1,000 residents. By 1870, The City had become the most important city in the western U.S., while its population had grown by more than 14,800% to 149,473. World War II was another boom time for San Francisco as shipbuilding and other war-related industries buoyed The City’s economy leading to a population increase of 140,000 between 1940 and 1950.
The dominance of the tech boom, and the money it has brought into San Francisco politics, has meant that the primary framework for understanding San Francisco has become economic growth. There has always been more to San Francisco than that. But the space for saying it out loud and for building politics, and culture, around things other than wealth accumulation has been shrinking.
So much of what San Francisco contributed to the rest of the world from roughly 1960 to 2000 would not have been possible if the local economy had been booming that whole time. It is also true that an economic bust is not going to be good for real estate prices, many retail and tech businesses or aspiring tech billionaires.
A city as wealthy as San Francisco could have used the previous boom decades to reinforce the infrastructure and services that will be so important if the economic downturn is real. Instead, San Francisco did little to invest in, for example, affordable housing and better public transportation, so these problems will linger or get worse during the coming economic bust.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
San Francisco economic forecast - San Francisco Business TimesHere's the Business Times' annual look at what to watch for in 2023.
Read more »
Tyler Rose to end 26-year-tenure at Kilroy Realty Corp. - San Francisco Business TimesA top Kilroy Realty Corp. executive is set to end his tenure, which spans more than a quarter of a century.
Read more »
Bed Bath & Beyond warns of potential bankruptcy - San Francisco Business TimesThe company has a dozen locations in the Bay Area, and others have already closed over the past year.
Read more »
San Francisco isn’t doing enough to stop supercharged floodsThe city's antiquated sewers won't be saved by civic duty and Adopt-a-Drain — only major investments.
Read more »
Where can you be naked in San Francisco?From races to beaches to fairs, here's where you can let it all hang out.
Read more »
Elon Musk says he can’t get fair trial in San Francisco, wants TexasThe shareholder lawsuit stems from Musk’s tweets in August 2018 when he said he had sufficient financing to take Tesla private at $420 a share — an announcement that caused heavy volatility in Tesl…
Read more »