San Francisco

San Francisco from Marin Headlands

Description

Founded in 1776 by Spanish missionaries and colonists, San Francisco (Spanish for Saint Francis), officially the City and County of San Francisco, population 870,000, is "the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California." (Wikipedia).

Located at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula, and at the "Golden Gate" or narrow mouth of San Francisco Bay, after which the city was named, San Francisco is about 48 square miles (124 km2) in area, the smallest county—and only consolidated city-county—in California.

San Francisco is notable for its large population and population density:

High density - With a density of about 18,581 people per square mile (7,174 people/km2), San Francisco is the most densely settled large city in California and the second-most densely populated major city in the United States after New York City.  

Populous - San Francisco is the fourth-most populous city in California, after Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose, and the 13th-most populous city in the United States—with a census-estimated 2016 population of 870,887. 

The city and its surrounding areas (encompassing nine California counties which border the Bay) are known as the San Francisco Bay Area, and are a part of the larger OMB-designated San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland combined statistical area, the fifth most populous in the nation with an estimated population of 8.7 million. 

  -- adapted from Wikipedia: San Francisco. 

 

Nicknames & Motto

• SF
• The City
• The City by the Bay
• The Golden City
• Fog City
• San Fran, Saint Frank, Frisco (all 3 locally disparaged)
• The City that Knows How (past);
• Baghdad by the Bay (past);
• The Paris of the West (archaic; 19thC)

Motto: Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra (Spanish); (English: "Gold in Peace, Iron in War").

 

Issues

• High rent and home prices
• High rates of displacement and out-migration 
• Limited housing supply
• Limited new development and redevelopment, especially of Affordable housing
• Transit system is considered fragmented, insufficient, underinvested, undermaintained, and overburdened
• High and rising economic inequality
• High rates of poverty and homelessness
• Many areas at high risk due to climate change
• Many areas at high risk of earthquake and wildfire
• Relatively scarce water supply
• Food deserts

Economic Context: Growth and Diversification

Since the 1990s, San Francisco's economy has moved increasingly towards the prominence of high-tech, biotech, and medical research. Tech jobs accounted for 1 percent of the city's jobs in 1990. They had grown to 4 percent by 2010 and to an estimated 8 percent by the end of 2013. The San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Metropolitan Statistical Area (a census designation) saw 90 percent tech industry growth from 2006-2016 according to a report by Praxis Strategy Group. San Francisco can now be said to be an important center for technology, Internet and social media companies (and especially for start-up businesses), attracting increasing venture capital funding compared to neighboring Silicon Valley - a trend the city has attempted to encourage with measures such as payroll tax exemptions for certain kinds of desirable companies.

A lack of new housing development and options and opposition to them coupled with this influx of new jobs and commuters who work in Silicon Valley (another Bay Area nexus of job growth) has contributed to a housing crisis in San Francisco and other Bay Area communities.

Demographics

Race and Ethnicity

Non-Hispanic Whites accounted for 48 percent of San Francisco's population in 2010, down from 92.5 percent in 1940, making San Francisco a minority-majority city. As of the 2010 United States census, San Francisco's population consisted of

• 48% Whites - 390,387
• 33% Asians - 267,915 Residents identifying as Chinese constituted the largest single ethnic block at 21 percent of the population.
• 6%  African-American/Black - 48, 870  This demographic has seen a steady decline since a high in 1970 of 13.4 percent of the population.
• 6.6 % Other race 
• Hispanics or Latinos of any race accounted for 15 percent of the population or 121,744 people.

Education, Households and Income

Following Seattle, San Francisco has the second-highest percentage of residents with a college degree of all major cities in the United States, with over 44% of San Francisco's adults having a bachelor's degree or higher.

San Francisco is a hub for the LGBTQ community with the highest percentage of gay and lesbian individuals of any of the 50 largest U.S. cities, at 15% and the highest percentage of same-sex households of any American county.

Homelessness

San Francisco is estimated to have 13,500 persons with 6,500 living on the streets.

Government

Municipal and County 

San Francisco (the City and County of San Francisco) has been in place as a consolidated city-county (the only such jurisdiction in California) since 1856 when it split from adjoining San Mateo County.

As a consolidated city-county of the Mayor of San Francisco is also the chief county executive and the County Board of Supervisors also fills the role of a City Council.

San Francisco's charter sets out that the city-county's government consist of two co-equal branches:

Executive Branch - This branch includes the Mayor and other city-wide elected and appointed office-holders, as well as the City and County's civil service

Legislative Branch - The legislative branch consists of the Board of Supervisors, elected to ten specific districts within the City, headed by a president. The Board is responsible for passing laws and budgets and the President of the Board of Supervisors steps in to fill the vacancy in the Executive Branch upon the death or resignation of the Mayor.

Note that legislation in San Francisco is also made through a direct ballot initiative/referendum process.

State

San Francisco's California State Assembly Districts are the 17th and 19th.

Federal

The City of San Francisco constitutes the entirety of California's 12th Congressional District. The District is currently served by House Minority Leader (Democrat), Nancy Pelosi.

Public and Governmental Resources

• San Francisco Office of the Mayor http://www.sfmayor.org/%E2%80%8E
• San Francisco Board of Supervisors http://sfbos.org/
• San Francisco Planning Department http://www.sfplanning.org/ https://twitter.com/sfplanning
• San Francisco Rent Board
• San Francisco Human Rights Commission
• San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency http://www.sfmta.com/
• Port of San Francisco http://sfport.com/

Neighborhoods and Internal Geographic Designations

City-designated "Analysis Neighborhoods" (41 neighborhoods)

Bayview Hunters Point  |  Bernal Heights  | Castro/Upper Market  | Chinatown  | Excelsior  | Financial District/South Beach  | Glen Park  | Golden Gate Park  | Haight Ashbury  | Hayes Valley  | Inner Richmond  | Inner Sunset  | Japantown  | Lakeshore  | Lincoln Park  | Lone Mountain/USF  | Marina  | McLaren Park  | Mission  | Mission Bay  | Nob Hill  | Noe Valley  | North Beach | Oceanview/Merced/Ingleside  | Outer Mission  | Outer Richmond  | Pacific Heights  | Portola  | Potrero Hill  | Presidio  | Presidio Heights  | Russian Hill  | Seacliff  | South of Market  | Sunset/Parkside  | Tenderloin  | Treasure Island  | Twin Peaks  | Visitacion Valley  | West of Twin Peaks  | Western Addition

San Francisco Planning Neighborhoods

San Francisco Realtor Neighborhoods

Alamo Square | Anza Vista | Balboa Terrace | Bayview | Bayview Heights | Bernal Heights | Buena Vista - Ashbury Heights | Candlestick Point | Central Richmond | Central Sunset | Central Waterfront - Dogpatch | Clarendon Heights | Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights | Corona Heights | Cow Hollow | Crocker Amazon | Diamond Heights | Downtown | Duboce Triangle | Eureka Vally - Dolores Heights | Excelsior | Financial District - Barbary Coast | Forest Hill | Forest Hill Extension | Forest Knolls | Glen Park | Golden Gate Heights | Haight Ashbury | Hayes Valley | Hunters Point | Ingleside | Ingleside Heights | Ingleside Terrace | Inner Mission | Inner Parkside | Inner Richmond | Inner Sunset | Jordan Park - Laurel Heights | Lake Shore | Lakeside | Lake Street | Little Hollywood | Lone Mountain | Lower Pacific Heights | Marina | Merced Heights | Merced Manor | Midtown Terrace | Miraloma Park | Mission Bay | Mission Dolores | Mission Terrace| Monterey Heights | Mount Davidson Manor | Nob Hill| Noe Valley | North Beach | North Panhandle | North Waterfront | Oceanview | Outer Mission | Outer Parkside | Outer Richmond | Outer Sunset | Pacific Heights | Parkside | Pine Lake Park | Portola | Potrero Hill | Presidio Heights | Russian Hill | Saint Francis Wood | Sea Cliff | Sherwood Forest | Silver Terrace | South Beach | South of Market | Stonestown | Sunnyside | Telegraph Hill | Tenderloin | Twin Peaks Van Ness - Civic Center | Visitacion Valley | Western Addition | West Portal | Westwood Highlands | Westwood Park | Yerba Buena

Supervisor Districts (Numbered 1-10)

District 1 - Northwest District 2 - Central West District 3 - Southwest District 4 - Twin Peaks West District 5 - Central District 6 - Central North District 7 - North District 8 - Northeast District 9 - Central East District 10 - Southeast

San Francisco Police Department Districts (10 districts. Note that the Presidio is policed by the United States Park Police)

Bayview  | Central  | Ingleside  | Mission  | Northern  | Park  | Richmond  | Southern  | Taraval | Tenderloin

Neighborhood Associations, Sites, and Organizations

• Progress Noe Valley http://www.progressnoe.com/
• Noe Valley site http://www.noevalley.com/
• Telegraph Hill Dwellers http://www.thd.org/
• Friends of Washington Square http://www.friendsofwashingtonsquare.com/
• Port of San Francisco Community Advisory Groups http://sfport.com/community
• Duboe Triangle Neighborhood Association (DTNA - Neighborhood, bordered by Market St., Castro St., Divisidero St., Waller St., Webster St. and Duboce Avenue) http://www.dtna.org/
• Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (HVNA)  http://www.hayesvalleysf.org/
• Castro/Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association (EVNA) http://www.evna.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EVNA415
• Cow Hollow Association http://www.cowhollowassociation.org/
• Neighborhood Associations of Presidio Planning - Contact President William Shepard wshepard@aol.com
• Cole Valley Neighborhood site (archived) http://colevalley.tripod.com/
• Castro SF (portal) http://www.castrosf.org/
• Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center http://www.bhnc.org/
• Haight Street site http://www.haightstreet.com/
• Miraloma Park Improvement Club (neighborhood defined by Mount Davidson) http://www.miralomapark.org/
• Portrero Hill Boosters http://potreroboosters.org/
• Union Street website http://www.unionstreet.com/
• Central Market (Neighborhoodland) https://neighborland.com/centralmarket/6thstreet https://neighborland.com/centralmarket/about https://neighborland.com/centralmarket/6thstreet
• San Francisco Chinatown portal http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/
• SF Beautiful - United Nations Plaza https://neighborland.com/unplaza
• Russian Hill Neighbors https://rhnsf.org/
• San Francisco History Association http://sanfranciscohistory.org/
• Aquatic Park Neighbors http://www.aquaticpark.org/%E2%80%8E
• Barbary Coast Neighbors http://www.bcnasf.org/
• FOGG Friends of Golden Gateway http://fogg.us/
• Francisco Park Conservancy (project to turn a disused reservoir into a public park - Russian Hill and Aquatic Park neighborhoods) https://www.franciscopark.org/
• Middle Polk Neighbors https://middlepolk.org/  Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Middle-Polk-Neighborhood-Association-146731006374/
• Rincon Neighbors http://www.rinconneighbors.com/
• Bayview Hills Neighborhood Association https://www.bayviewhillsf.org/
• Bayview Residents Improving their Environment (BRITE) http://britesf.org/
• Buena Vista Neighborhood Association http://bvnasf.org/
• Cathedral Hill Neighborhood Association http://sfchna.org/
• Fisherman's Wharf portal http://www.fishermanswharf.org/
• Golden Gateway Tenants' Organization http://goldengatewaytenants.org/
• Greater West Portal Neighborhood Association http://www.gwpna.org/
• Jackson Square Historic District Association http://jacksonsquaresf.org/
• North of the Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NoPNA) http://nopna.squarespace.com/
• Pacific Heights Residents' Association http://www.phra-sf.org/

Publications and Blogs

(In progress)

• San Francisco Chronicle
• San Francisco Business Times
• Mercury News
• Sacramento Bee
• Curbed San Francisco
• Metro Observer Press
• San Francisco Magazine
• Castro/Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association Newsletter https://evna.org/eureka/
• Hoodline http://hoodline.com/

Housing and Urbanist Organizations

(In progress) This list is not specifically YIMBY/pro-development. See the YIMBY Organizations Directory for a listing of SF Bay YIMBY organizations.

• SFYIMBY Party http://www.sfyimby.org
• YIMBY Action https://yimbyaction.org
• Grow SF http://www.growsanfrancisco.org
• Tech for Housing http://techforhousing.org  @Tech_Yimby http://www.twitter.com/Tech_Yimby
• SF Bay Area Renters' Federation http://www.sfbarf.org/
• San Francisco Tenants' Union https://www.sftu.org/
• SPUR (The San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association) http://www.spur.org/
• San Francisco Housing Action Coalition http://www.sfhac.org/
• San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
• Home Ownership SF http://homeownershipsf.org/
• Walk San Francisco http://walksf.org/
• SF Do Something @SFDoSomething
• Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods http://www.csfn.net/
• SF Beautiful http://sfbeautiful.org/
• San Francisco Apartment Association https://www.sfaa.org/public
   

Zoning & Planning

In 1978, much of San Francisco was rezoning to limit building heights and density of development. 

The EIR (Environmental Impact Report) predicted cost increases, displacement, and increased pollution from long commutes. 
https://archive.org/details/finalenvironment2719sanf. 

Dowall, David E. (1982). "The Suburban Squeeze: Land-Use Policies in the San Francisco Bay Area." Cato Journal, Vol 2, No 3 (Winter 1982). 
https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1983/1/cj2n3-4.pdf

"A suburban land squeeze has hit the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Extensive post-warland development, increasing use of growth management controls, more restrictive land-use and environmental regulations, and a 'go-slow' development posture created by the passage of Proposition 4 and Proposition 13 have combined to reduce land conversion opportunities in the region considerably."
 

 

People

(In progress) Local Bay Area influencers, activists, journalists, leaders, politicos, researchers, change agents, strategists, and commentators...

• Sonja Trauss @sonjatrauss
• Laura Foote Clark
• Christine Johnson - San Francisco Planning Commissioner; SPUR, San Francisco Director
• Angela Hockabout @knitluck
• Brian Hanlon 
• Annie Fryman
• Matthew Yglesias
• Corey Smith
• Blanca Torres - Covers real estate and economic development for the San Francisco Business Times
• Roland Li - Real estate reporter with the San Francisco Business Times
• Scott Weiner - California State Senator
• Rachele Trigueros - Bay Area Council
• Victoria Fierce - YIMBY Action Board; East Bay Forward @tdifischer
• Gabriel Metcalf - President of SPUR
• Tim McCormick - Houslets; YIMBYwiki
• Laura Fingal-Surma - Founding board member, YIMBY Action; Co-Founder Progress Noe Valley
• Dan Fingal-Surma
• Bobak Esfandiari 
• Steve Boland @calurbanist
• Skylar Taylor - YIMBY Action
• Daniel Camp

 

References

See section in Reading List: San Francisco / Bay Area history and issues, the contents of which should also be included below. 

 

 

 

Articles/papers/studies

• Chapple, Karen, John V. Thomas, Dena Belzer and Gerald Autler. "Fueling the Fire: Information Technology and Housing Price Appreciation in the San Francisco Bay Area." 
  Housing Policy Debate 15(2): 347-383.  (2004)
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2004.9521505. 
   
• City and County of San Francisco. 
  • San Francisco Analysis Neighborhoods
    https://data.sfgov.org/Geographic-Locations-and-Boundaries/Analysis-Neighborhoods/p5b7-5n3h/data. 
  • San Francisco Indicator Project Geographic Boundaries
     http://sfgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=e4927a261ae044959ec4d4932b047ff8. 
  • San Francisco Planning Department. Centennial Celebration Brochure, 2018. 
    http://default.sfplanning.org/publications_reports/SF_Planning_Centennial_Brochure.pdf

• City and County of San Francisco, City Office of the Controller – Office of Economic Analysis. "Potential Effects of Limiting Market-Rate Housing in the Mission." September 10, 2015.
  http://sfcontroller.org/sites/default/files/FileCenter/Documents/6742-mission_moratorium_final.pdf.
   
• City and County of San Francisco, Department of Planning. "Final environmental impact report for the proposed amendments to the text of the City planning code and to the zoning map relating to residential districts and development." 1978.
  https://archive.org/details/finalenvironment2719sanf. 
   
• Cutler, Kim-Mai. "How Burrowing Owls Lead To Vomiting Anarchists (Or SF’s Housing Crisis Explained)." TechCrunch. 2014-04-14.
   
• Domhoff, William G. "Why San Francisco Is (or Used to Be) Different: Progressive Activists and Neighborhoods Had a Big Impact." Who Rules America, November 2011. http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/local/san_francisco.html.
   
• Dowall, David E. (1982). "The Suburban Squeeze: Land-Use Policies in the San Francisco Bay Area." Cato Journal, Vol 2, No 3 (Winter 1982). https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/cato-journal/1983/1/cj2n3-4.pdf
  
  "A suburban land squeeze has hit the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Extensive post-warland development, increasing use of growth management controls, more restrictive land-use and environmental regulations, and a 'go-slow' development posture created by the passage of Proposition 4 and Proposition 13 have combined to reduce land conversion opportunities in the region considerably."
   
• Hogan, Mark. "Living in a Fool’s Paradise: San Francisco must change." Boom California. June 25, 2014. https://boomcalifornia.com/2014/06/25/living-in-a-fools-paradise/. 
   
• King, Steve. “Thoughts on the Unnatural Occurrence of Cheap Housing.” Shelterforce, April 25, 2017.  https://shelterforce.org/2017/04/25/thoughts-unnatural-occurrence-cheap-housing/.
  "CDCs [Community Development Corporations[ and affordable housing developers have an opportunity to prevent displacement, preserve affordability, and improve the habitability of neglected housing."
   
• LeSar, Jennifer, and Cecilia V. Estolano. “Housing-focused Publications in the San Francisco Bay Area: a Literature Review.” (lit review done for MTC MTCcasa initiative).
  https://mtc.ca.gov/sites/default/files/CASA%20-%20Literature%20Review%20-%20Housing-focused%20Publications%20in%20the%20San%20Francisco%20Bay%20Area.pdf.
  "This literature review was prepared by Estolano LeSar Perez (ELP) Advisors on behalf of MTC and CASA: the Committee to House the Bay Area. The goals of the literature review were to:
  •    Establish a baseline of information about regional housing trends and the impacts and concerns identified by diverse constituencies;
  •    Accelerate the CASA discussion by building on policy work done by stakeholders to date;
  •    Create a reservoir of good ideas to draw upon throughout the CASA process; and
  •    Distill thousands of pages of documents of relevant material into a concise and consistent format." 
  
   
• Rosen, Marcia, and Wendy Sullivan. “From Urban Renewal and Displacement to Economic Inclusion: San Francisco Affordable Housing Policy 1978-2012.” Poverty and Race Research Action Council, November 2012. 
  http://www.prrac.org/pdf/SanFranAffHsing.pdf.
   
• Wikipedia.
  • "List of City Nicknames in the United States"  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_city_nicknames_in_the_United_States#California
  • "San Francisco" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco

 

• Zuk, Miriam, and Karen Chapple. “Housing Production, Filtering and Displacement: Untangling the Relationships.” Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, May 2016. http://www.urbandisplacement.org/sites/default/files/images/udp_research_brief_052316.pdf.

 

Books

• Bagwell, Beth. Oakland The Story of a City (1982; 2nd edition 2012). 
   
• Brechin, Gray. Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin (2001). 
   
• DeLeon, Richard. Left coast city: progressive politics in San Francisco, 1975-1991 (1992).
   
• Hartman, Chester. City for Sale: The Transformation of San Francisco (2002). 
   
• Margolin, Malcolm. The Ohlone Way: Indian life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area.(1978; Berkeley: Heyday Books; 25th Anniversary Ed. with a new Afterword, 2002).
   
• Polledri, Paolo. Visionary San Francisco (1990).
   
• Self, Robert O. American Babylon: Race and the Struggle for Postwar Oakland. (Princeton University Press, 2003).