3 ms·

You’re right, the parts along Geary and Clement are fine. Looking more carefully at the map, the Richmond is mostly RH-2 (allows duplexes) and RM-1 (1 unit per

You’re right, the parts along Geary and Clement are fine. Looking more carefully at the map, the Richmond is mostly RH-2 (allows duplexes) and RM-1 (1 unit per 800 sf). It’s the Sunset (pretty much everything south of Golden Gate Park) and all of the that is really absurdly low density (RH-1). The Richmond feels significantly more suburban than the Mission (where I live) though. I don’t think “skyscraper urban” is all that necessary (in SF, my impression is that the skyscraper boom is mostly a result of a few areas with very lax zoning combined with massive demand because everywhere else the zoning is absurdly limiting), but the USA could use a whole lot more low-rise and mid-rise apartment buildings.

wahern 7y ago
The zoning is low-density by SF standards, but the actual population density is much greater than one would think: https://www.sfindicatorproject.org/img/indicators/pdf/Population_Density.pdf https://www.sfindicatorproject.org/img/indicators/pdf/Popula... Relative to almost every other locale in the United States, and especially according to most Americans' perceptions, it's a stretch to call any neighborhood in San Francisco suburban. Relative to urbanized areas in the rest of the world, especially Asia, only a few neighborhoods in the U.S. are comparable, and only one or two in SF, if any. (Northbeach/Chinatown has the population density of Manhattan.) But that gets back to my basic point--urbanizing and suburbanizing trends are principally functions of various costs, most importantly those relating to housing and commuting. And whatever we want to call it in the U.S., the trend is still clearly toward greater density after decades of fanning out.
- masonic 7y ago
  it's a stretch to call any neighborhood in San Francisco suburban The Sunset is the very definition of suburban.
  - beetwenty 7y ago
    "Streetcar suburb" is correct. The Outer Sunset formed around the old "Carville" site, and the district's development was mostly complete by the '50s. But the blocks of row houses on a grid are such an old planning concept that it's almost unrecognizable when compared with late-20th century suburbs. The hills are a bit too steep and the streets a bit too busy for a young child to safely bike around or play in. On the other hand, skaters enjoy the slopes and curb cuts and often film there.

wahern 7y ago

The zoning is low-density by SF standards, but the actual population density is much greater than one would think: https://www.sfindicatorproject.org/img/indicators/pdf/Population_Density.pdf https://www.sfindicatorproject.org/img/indicators/pdf/Popula... Relative to almost every other locale in the United States, and especially according to most Americans' perceptions, it's a stretch to call any neighborhood in San Francisco suburban. Relative to urbanized areas in the rest of the world, especially Asia, only a few neighborhoods in the U.S. are comparable, and only one or two in SF, if any. (Northbeach/Chinatown has the population density of Manhattan.) But that gets back to my basic point--urbanizing and suburbanizing trends are principally functions of various costs, most importantly those relating to housing and commuting. And whatever we want to call it in the U.S., the trend is still clearly toward greater density after decades of fanning out.

masonic 7y ago
it's a stretch to call any neighborhood in San Francisco suburban The Sunset is the very definition of suburban.
- beetwenty 7y ago
  "Streetcar suburb" is correct. The Outer Sunset formed around the old "Carville" site, and the district's development was mostly complete by the '50s. But the blocks of row houses on a grid are such an old planning concept that it's almost unrecognizable when compared with late-20th century suburbs. The hills are a bit too steep and the streets a bit too busy for a young child to safely bike around or play in. On the other hand, skaters enjoy the slopes and curb cuts and often film there.