San Francisco

"Milk" Puts New Attention on San Francisco's Castro District

Andy Sywak — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:48:54 -0500

The Castro District of San Francisco has found itself thrust into the national spotlight by recent events. With the premiere of Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” across the country and the continuing controversy over Proposition 8, the neighborhood so instrumental in the gay rights movement is receiving a new surge of attention – and more importantly respect – for its rich history. Yet the Castro is not a museum district; it is a living, breathing neighborhood that is changing and facing significant challenges in a down economy. read more »

San Francisco and the Meltdown

Adam Mayer — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:00:59 -0400

Initially San Francisco and the Bay Area market seemed to be immune to the financial meltdown resulting from the mortgage crisis. After all, the City and its accompanying affluent suburbs had not suffered drastic drops in home prices as seen in many other regions of the country. Yet as the mortgage crisis has snowballed into a complete meltdown of the worldwide financial system, the poster child of the ‘new economy’ now appears less and less immune from the turmoil dominating our news headlines.

The region that consists of the City by the Bay and the adjacent Silicon Valley is no stranger to drastic market corrections. read more »

No More Urban Hype

Joel Kotkin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:01:25 -0400

Just months ago, urban revivalists could see the rosy dawn of a new era for America's cities. With rising gas prices and soaring foreclosures hitting the long-despised hinterland, urban boosters and their media claque were proclaiming suburbia home to, as the Atlantic put it, "the next slums." Time magazine, the Financial Times, CNN and, of course, The New York Times all embraced the notion of a new urban epoch.

Yet in one of those ironies that markets play on hypesters, the mortgage crisis is now puncturing the urbanists' bubble. The mortgage meltdown that first singed the suburbs and exurbs, after all, was largely financed by Wall Street, the hedge funds, the investment banks, insurers and the rest of the highly city-centric top of the paper food chain. read more »

A New Model for New York --- San Francisco Anyone?

Joel Kotkin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:52:32 -0400

From the beginning of the mortgage crisis New York and other financial centers have acted as if they were immune to the suffering in the rest of country. As suburbs, exurbs and hard-scrabble out of the way urban neighborhoods suffered with foreclosures and endured predictions of their demise, the cognitive elites in places like Manhattan felt confident about their own prospects, property values and jobs. So what if the rubes in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tampa and Riverside all teetered on the brink? read more »

Are Housing Declines Evenly Spread? - An Examination of California

Wendell Cox — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:30:37 -0400

To read the popular press, one gets the impression that the collapse of the housing market is concentrated largely in the suburbs and exurbs, as people flock back to the cities in response to the mortgage crisis and high gas prices. A review of mortgage meltdown “ground zero” California indicates the picture is far more nuanced. read more »

Excavating The Buried Civilization of Roosevelt’s New Deal

Gray Brechin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:20:15 -0400

A bridge crashes into the Mississippi at rush hour. Cheesy levees go down in New Orleans and few come to help or rebuild. States must rely on gambling for revenue to run essential public services yet fall farther into the pit of structural deficits. Clearly we have gone a long way from the legacy of the New Deal. read more »

The Great Exception: San Francisco’s SoMa Neighborhood

Adam Mayer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:09:02 -0400

In recent months, one has not been able to open a newspaper without being reminded of the havoc that is being wreaked on the U.S. economy. The subprime mortgage debacle coupled with skyrocketing energy prices have caused many middle class Americans to lose confidence in taking out home loans and putting a screeching halt to consumer spending. read more »

The Entrenchment of Urban Poverty

Andy Sywak — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:35:12 -0400

How high urban housing costs and income inequality have exacerbated urban poverty

A few years ago, on a drive from New York to Washington, I turned off I-95 in Baltimore to see H.L. Mencken’s home. Abandoned row houses lined the street, some boarded up with plywood, others simply gutted. Signs offering fast cash for houses and a number to call for unwanted cars outnumbered pedestrians. It was a landscape of rot and neglect with few signs of renewal and investment. read more »

Is Narcissus also a success story?

Joel Kotkin — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:53:24 -0400

In sharp contrast with its arch-rival, Los Angeles, San Francisco historically has won plaudits from easterners. read more »

Community and a Sense of Place in San Francisco

Andy Sywak — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:48:20 -0400

On any given weeknight in San Francisco, some professional, political or social association throws a cocktail hour. From black-tie galas in the latest hip restaurant to arts fundraisers held at dingy watering holes, these mixers are a staple of young professional life where people go to network, flirt and unwind. read more »