Don't be a Stanford Asshole

It shocks me to see brand new condos going up in the city that are 4-5 stories tall when cities like Paris and Munich have shown that you can have human scale living at a much greater density. Why do new buildings have so few stories? Because landlords in the city heavily lobby for restrictions and challenge every project trying to scale them down. There is enough room for SF to keep its eccentrics and welcome newcomers and that solution is supply.

This is impossible in practice. But more importantly, it is one of those hopelessly naive idealistic rules. Apartments will be rented out, whether it is by you or someone else. Changing an economic trend requires more than rent control and well-intentioned protests.

A great example of the author's inability to engage with opposing views is in the intro:

Afterward, one of the event organizers thanked me for coming, even though, she said, “I disagree with almost everything you said.” Seriously? So it’s okay to evict poor people to make room for new rich people? Is that what the SF Chron talked about today with a story called “psychology studies suggest rising wealth means more jerks in SF?”

Note how the author is more interested in psychology studies about people, than what those people would actually say for themselves.