This analysis reaches the unsurprising conclusion that the cost of housing is the dominant driver of cost of living differences among American cities. And, the key drivers of high housing costs - again, not surprising - appear to be population density, proportion of residents with college degrees, concentration of knowledge economy jobs (e.g., tech), and the presence of artists (the so-called Bohemian Index) and LGBT couples. These factors, of course, describe San Francisco perfectly, and this isnt going to change. The solution to our high housing costs - which, if unaddressed, will continue to push people out and make it challenging for non-wealthy people to come here - isnt to try to gate the city off. We must adapt to meet our present circumstances. We need strong anti-displacement measures and need to aggressively tackle the underlying lack of housing produced in San Francisco. We need more housing of all kinds, from new construction to in-law units, from market-rate to subsidized affordable, and from large to small. We need to recognize that the city is growing and that our choice isnt to grow or not to grow but rather whether to prepare or not prepare for that growth.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 14:29:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015