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That only makes the dynamic even more exaggerated when you travel from a reasonably clean, streetcar-suburb neighborhood like West Portal or the Outer Richmond

That only makes the dynamic even more exaggerated when you travel from a reasonably clean, streetcar-suburb neighborhood like West Portal or the Outer Richmond to the city core and are abruptly surrounded by a mass of bodies failed by society.

Ygg2 9y ago
Isn't that same for every city? Even London has its Peckham (well not anymore it's been gentrified).
- gggdvnkhmbgjvbn 9y ago
  I just came back to sf after a 3 month trip and I have no clue how I ever got used to it. I took my parents to a cafe that sold $4 nitro cold brew and we couldn't sit outside because the smell of homeless people's shit from across the street was too strong. This author's article points out the unique aspect: you can see the expensive restaurants and the homeless inches away from one another. that's what makes it not just unjust but so aesthetically absurd as to be dystopian.
- smikhanov 9y ago
  No other city has such a stark contrast between the areas. In London, the poorest neighborhood is Canning Town, and even in its grimiest pockets, immediately south of Newham Way, it’s not as bad as parts of Tenderloin.
  - RestlessMind 9y ago
    > No other city... I would urge you to travel to Asia if you think so. Mumbai would be a fine place to start. SF is not "racing ahead" to a dystopian future; its merely becoming a regular city where very rich and very poor cohabit. This egalitarianism is merely a passing phenomenon, which lasted for ~50 years, and is now shrunk to Western/Northern Europe and a few other small countries.
    - smikhanov 9y ago
      I, of course, should’ve said “no other city in a first-world country”, but if you think that Mumbai is a fine goal for Californians to aspire to, so be it.
- Mithaldu 9y ago
  I've seen Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin. You have to pay attention REALLY well to spot the handful of homeless there.
  - TomMarius 9y ago
    I've seen Bangkok, Mumbai and more. You have to close your eyes REALLY DAMN hard to not spot the homeless.

Ygg2 9y ago

Isn't that same for every city? Even London has its Peckham (well not anymore it's been gentrified).

gggdvnkhmbgjvbn 9y ago
I just came back to sf after a 3 month trip and I have no clue how I ever got used to it. I took my parents to a cafe that sold $4 nitro cold brew and we couldn't sit outside because the smell of homeless people's shit from across the street was too strong. This author's article points out the unique aspect: you can see the expensive restaurants and the homeless inches away from one another. that's what makes it not just unjust but so aesthetically absurd as to be dystopian.
smikhanov 9y ago
No other city has such a stark contrast between the areas. In London, the poorest neighborhood is Canning Town, and even in its grimiest pockets, immediately south of Newham Way, it’s not as bad as parts of Tenderloin.
- RestlessMind 9y ago
  > No other city... I would urge you to travel to Asia if you think so. Mumbai would be a fine place to start. SF is not "racing ahead" to a dystopian future; its merely becoming a regular city where very rich and very poor cohabit. This egalitarianism is merely a passing phenomenon, which lasted for ~50 years, and is now shrunk to Western/Northern Europe and a few other small countries.
  - smikhanov 9y ago
    I, of course, should’ve said “no other city in a first-world country”, but if you think that Mumbai is a fine goal for Californians to aspire to, so be it.
Mithaldu 9y ago
I've seen Hamburg, Hannover, Berlin. You have to pay attention REALLY well to spot the handful of homeless there.
- TomMarius 9y ago
  I've seen Bangkok, Mumbai and more. You have to close your eyes REALLY DAMN hard to not spot the homeless.