Why San Franciscans Can’t Find Housing, Part I

Commentary Don’t build affordable housing; build expensive housing—that’s what San Franciscans want. Build 300,000 expensive units in areas where upper-middle-class citizens like to live: the Marina, Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, Telegraph Hill, Twin Peaks, Noe Valley, and the Sunset and Richmond districts. Build 10-story apartment buildings on Geary Boulevard from Union Square to Ocean Beach, with rapid transit. Build 10-story condos along Fulton and Lincoln from Arguello to 48t h Avenue; rename those streets Golden Gate Park North, Golden Gate Park South. Add Judah and Taraval (with rapid transit), and Van Ness Avenue, possibly Lombard Street from Van Ness to the Presidio. New apartments at Mission Bay are not where San Franciscans want to live. Such apartments are pieds-à-terre (secondary residences) and short-term housing for employees at Google, Salesforce, and UCSF Medical....