Life on the Dirtiest Block in San Francisco
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
[1] https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/heatherknight/article/Le...
YIMBY is too incremental— turn SoMa into mini-Manhattan to jump SF 100 years into the future!
As a European who has visited many different countries on multiple continents (including time spent living in NY and London), I was truly shocked. It wasn't just the filth though - rather the shocking part is the contrast of such filth/destitution juxtaposed on a background of prosperity, and the way SFers almost nonchalantly accept it as 'normal'.
First month of uni I unknowingly drove into the wrong neighborhood and stopped at a park. As soon as I turned off the engine and got out a group of people that were playing basketball started pointing at me and running at me. I dont think they wanted to introduce themselves in a friendly way. Later that semester, my friend wondered drunk into that neighborhood and was sucker punched and robbed of his wallet and cell phone.
Funny you call this some conspiracy? I know it's not PC, but conspiracy? Really?
I find that difficult to believe.
There is a central district in Copenhagen, Denmark, for example which also 'allows' the use of drugs, homelessness etc. As fair as I'm aware, police don't even enter this neighbourhood unless a serious crime (eg murder) takes place.
Yet it's clean, friendly, welcoming and often visited by tourists. Definitely no needles or faeces visible anywhere.
I don't see why the Tenderloin should necessarily be any worse than this.
I've only been living here for two months (a few blocks north of Tenderloin). I already want out at the earliest opportunity. Why anyone voluntarily lives here is beyond me.
The article didn't even mention Dreamforce, where no kidding there was a surplus of clean food, water, and even clothing/swag just a 10-15 minute walk abject poverty. The whole thing kind of made me think of the following quote
> “The greatest crimes in modern history resulted not just from hatred and greed, but even more so from ignorance and indifference.” ― Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
I took a couple of extra socks and shirts from software vendors to give out, but man... Heroin is an ugly drug. There was alot of talk about hoping the new mayor would do something. Like set up safe injection sites, but this feels to me like a bandaid for the problem.
But many homeless lack access to these basic necessities that were in such abundance/wasted just 10 minutes away. To juxtapose the two extremes was unsettling.
I was just trying to point out that many people do not have access to the quality of food/water that literally goes to waste at tech companies.
The only thing this accomplishes is putting a strain on the court system. If they had some sort of alternative to 'catch and release' like a recovery program or prison diversion program. 100% agree with you. The law isn't enforceable as it stands now and throwing a bunch of police/extra courts/extra incarceration centers isn't really going to attack the problem at the source.
That kind of thing needs to be treated as the public health problem that it is, with extensive society-wide initiatives to prevent people getting into those situations, and to help them get out once they're in. Law enforcement can play a part in that for sure, but until there's a clear programme it doesn't do much to alleviate the problem in the long term.
But I think this will help with the pre-homeless. But I think the feces/drug problems are caused by individuals for whom $2500 and $1000/month rent/mortgage are equally impossible.
The homeless population has remained steady about 5,000 - 6,000 people. It suggests some sort of equilibrium and that the predominate dynamics at play are far more complex than issues of housing costs and "gentrification".
If you have a mental illness or drug addiction problem, it's actually not too difficult to get off the streets in relatively short order if you choose. If you lack either of those handicaps you're likely to leave altogether. But in the aggregate there's a certain tolerance people have (especially for the mentally ill and drug addicted) for living in homeless conditions, and people (especially the mentally ill, drug addicted, and people who live on the street) don't like rules.
Also note that the number of living-on-street homeless today is the same as over a decade ago. (I qualify homeless because if you live in certain types of housing you're still classified as homeless under various regulatory guidelines used to allocate funding.) Removing compulsory treatment and other consequences to get off the street has, at best, been a wash in terms of homeless numbers. (More likely contributed to overall increase.) However, it very clearly has resulted in homeless flouting normative behaviors even more. Most mentally ill and drug addicts were and are capable of avoiding using the streets as a latrine because despite the same number of street homeless the environmental conditions are far worse today than at any other time, even though the numbers are unchanged. Which means they were and are capable of responding to consequences. If you're all carrot and no stick, don't be surprised at the results. It's something that's undeniable at this point. We can't only blame unjust laws or difficult economic situations, not in the aggregate.
Still, that area of Chicago was pretty damn clean compared to what I have seen in SF. Living here is so depressing, even more so than what I've encountered in Chicago. Walking past literal hobo shanty towns on the sidewalk; seeing god damn used needles on the sidewalk across the street from my office; having coworkers visiting from out-of-state harassed by homeless people; SHIT EVERYWHERE. Not even just downtown. I live in the Richmond District and there's constantly shit on the sidewalk. This is easily the grossest city I've ever been in.
The most maddening thing about all of this is how much it costs to live here. Fucking hell. AND HOW MUCH THEY CHARGE FOR SECURITY DEPOSITS! This is all so crazy to me.
I am thinking of something like a smartphone app that logs which blocks you spend time on. If you spend time on a block and it's cleanliness improves you get money. This idea does have some problems regarding minimum wage laws and funding but the concept could be worth a try at least.
The blighted areas should be thriving and bustling, full to the brim with immigrants from all over the world, but we turn them away.
Do you think more cultures would displace the homeless? Or they would be more able to care for the vulnerable population? Immigration is less restrictive now than 50 years ago, but this problem seems worse now than in 1970, right?
I’m all for improved immigration policy, don’t don’t see the connection.
My view is that the land and infrastructure in the tenderloin is being horribly misused.
Not only does it provide shelter for some people, but it is also an environment where hard drugs and crime are rampant.
Immigrants would be willing to settle in some of the more grungy areas, and would quickly clean them up through investment in little things that make a big difference, such as reporting crimes, cleaning up messes, warding off those who have no concern for the value of the neighborhood.
There will still need to be housing and treatment for the indigent and addicted, but there is no reason that miles of productive urban space should be blighted for decades due to being overtaken by squalor and crime.
Immigrants would revitalize it by filling it with non-addicted and ambitious people who would strive to make it their home.