Experts weigh in on the local effects of sea level rise. Hear from an oceanographer, an academic, a climate scientist, a policy professional and an environmental planner.
Category: Neighborhoods
Posted inClimate Change, Environment, Housing, Land use, Neighborhoods, News, Sea Level Rise: 1st in a Series, Technology
Interactive Map: A Baywide Building Boom Threatened by Rising Waters
We found 27 proposals for major construction projects that could be flooded in decades due to climate change. View our interactive map.
Posted inClimate Change, Environment, Housing, Land use, Neighborhoods, News, Sea Level Rise: 1st in a Series, Technology
As Science Gets Better, Dramatic Sea Rise Seems More Certain
Sea level rise of 8 feet is an unlikely but worrisome possibility. Many objections to preparing aggressively for sea level rise center on the uncertainty in projections about how quickly global warming will cause the oceans to expand. But the science is increasingly clear.
Posted inBay Area, Housing, Neighborhoods, News
Cities ponder tighter rent controls
A city councilmember in San Jose has said he may propose strengthening his city’s loose rent controls to keep at least some housing there affordable. But rents in Oakland continued to soar after it made the same move last summer. Few other solutions to the Bay Area’s housing crisis have emerged, and even San Francisco’s stringent controls haven’t kept a lid on evictions or rent increases.
Posted inCity Hall, Homelessness, Homelessness and Mental Health, Neighborhoods, Public Safety
As Neighbors Decry Spread of Homeless Encampments, One Mission Resident Opens Her Home Instead
Potrero Hill and Mission District residents complain about nearby homeless encampments, which have grown in sheltered areas as winter approaches. Police and city officials say the problem is too big to solve. One resident took matters into her own hands. Part of a special report on homelessness and mental health in San Francisco in the fall 2014 print edition.
Posted inCity Hall, Elections, Housing, Housing Solutions, Land use, Neighborhoods
Housing Solution: Build Manhattan-Style Towers in Candlestick Park
Business journalist David Cay Johnston pitches the idea of building high-density apartment buildings at Candlestick Park instead of planned retail, offices and hotels. He says “Manhattanizing” the area could bring down housing prices across the city by adding 14,000 new units of housing.
Posted inCity Hall, Housing Solutions, Land use, Neighborhoods
Housing Solution: Increase Density in Western Neighborhoods and Fix Transit
New housing construction is blazing through the city’s eastern side, but not the west. Why? Residents say existing public transit is too poor to accommodate denser housing, which might also disrupt the neighborhood’s character. But minor tweaks to zoning regulations could add thousands of new apartments, and many would be priced below the market rate.
Posted inEconomy & Business, Neighborhoods
Heinberg: Localize Economy or Face the Consequences
Author Richard Heinberg and other experts spoke at the Economics of Sustainability conference, at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Heinberg said communities must become more self-sufficient in order to mitigate the coming climate crisis.
Posted inHousing, Housing Solutions, Media, Neighborhoods
Working Groups Envision Plans for an Affordable San Francisco
City residents, advocates and experts gathered at “Hack the Housing Crisis” to come up with ways to make San Francisco more affordable and create space for new tenants. Possible solutions included building portable houses and creating social media websites where renters and landlords could connect. Part of a special report on solutions for housing affordability.
Posted inCity Hall, Community, Economy & Business, Labor, Neighborhoods, News, Workforce Development
Twitter, Other Tech Companies Get S.F. Tax Breaks but Show Little Progress Hiring in Neighborhood
The largest of the firms settling in mid-Market signed extensive community agreements, but critics call them toothless
Last year, 14 San Francisco technology companies received $1.9 million in tax breaks for setting up shop in the mid-Market Street area. Supporters said it was a good investment, bringing economic development and jobs to an economically depressed strip in the core of the city. The zone is certainly coming back to life, and the companies that benefited now employ more than 2,700 workers. But it is less clear that the deal resulted in entry-level jobs for residents of the hardscrabble neighborhood — one of the goals most sought by skeptics of the tax break. The largest six of the companies promised a list of community benefits that included an effort to identify qualified job seekers in the Tenderloin and mid-Market area. But the agreements are vaguely worded, the companies have been slow to report their progress to the city, and most were unresponsive to direct questions about employment practices.
This story is part of a special report on workforce development in the San Francisco Public Press fall print edition.