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Doesn't SF's risk of liquefaction plus the current soft soils around the city make it potentially quite dangerous to build taller buildings?

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/soiltype/map/

http://thefrontsteps.com/2010/11/22/san-francisco-neighborho...

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Not necessarily: there are ways to build high rise buildings in such an environment. It also isn't hypothetical: San Francisco skyscrapers are some of the safest places to be during an earthquake.

See also Taipei 101 -- designed to withstand seismic events and typhoons through some rather interesting "hacks".

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