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/indica

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.