4 ms·

> like most major cities I have lived in or visited Boston, Chicago, North Carolina's RTP, and the Bay. Only in SF are there homeless camps with blatant drug a

> like most major cities I have lived in or visited Boston, Chicago, North Carolina's RTP, and the Bay. Only in SF are there homeless camps with blatant drug abuse and public defecation being tolerated by authorities. Only in SF can you run into, with 100% probability, a mentally deranged person on your daily commute. When "specific streets" cover half the city (Financial district, Tenderloin, SoMA, Mission...) they aren't so specific anymore.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
The other cities listed are very cold at times and/or very humid/hot at times. It is much easier and pleasant to camp outside in western cities.
- vineyardmike 4y ago
  …which makes people less sympathetic to the homeless, and feel less compelled to take real action to get them off the street.
vineyardmike 4y ago
Obviously NC is a completely different environment, so it doesn’t even make sense to compare. But I think the fair weather of the west coast absolutely hurts the homeless more. In Boston, they have a “right to shelter” law that will house people, even in hotel rooms. SF weather is so nice that people don’t feel bad about letting people stay on the street. Boston actually has more homeless people (with a similar total population) than SF - but almost all of them are “sheltered” and off the street. Boston has a 97% shelter rate, SF has 40%. NYC has a much bigger population (and more absolute homelessness), and a sheltered rate of 95% - due to similar “right to shelter” laws. Even Chicago has a meager 72% shelter rate. https://sfgov.org/scorecards/benchmarking/homelessness https://sfgov.org/scorecards/benchmarking/homelessness
mancerayder 4y ago
Why is this so prevalent in wealthy U.S. cities but so much less in cities like Paris and London. These are more expensive (relative to income), dense cities with housing shortages and smaller GDP's. Maybe there's something to be said for management of tax revenue and prioritization. Also petty theft is prosecuted in these cities.
- toomanyrichies 4y ago
  Americans, especially those who've led a relatively charmed life, have a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality. The idea of the rugged, cowboy individualist succeeding all on their own through sheer force of will is a deeply ingrained part of our culture. Many would scoff if you tried telling them that they're already deeply interdependent with others to live the lifestyles they lead, for things like the clothes on their back, the food on their table, etc. A person with this kind of mentality who sees homelessness and drug addiction on the street is unlikely to be sympathetic about what brought someone to that state of affairs, or take action to help fix the issue.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

The other cities listed are very cold at times and/or very humid/hot at times. It is much easier and pleasant to camp outside in western cities.

vineyardmike 4y ago
…which makes people less sympathetic to the homeless, and feel less compelled to take real action to get them off the street.

vineyardmike 4y ago

Obviously NC is a completely different environment, so it doesn’t even make sense to compare. But I think the fair weather of the west coast absolutely hurts the homeless more. In Boston, they have a “right to shelter” law that will house people, even in hotel rooms. SF weather is so nice that people don’t feel bad about letting people stay on the street. Boston actually has more homeless people (with a similar total population) than SF - but almost all of them are “sheltered” and off the street. Boston has a 97% shelter rate, SF has 40%. NYC has a much bigger population (and more absolute homelessness), and a sheltered rate of 95% - due to similar “right to shelter” laws. Even Chicago has a meager 72% shelter rate. https://sfgov.org/scorecards/benchmarking/homelessness https://sfgov.org/scorecards/benchmarking/homelessness

mancerayder 4y ago

Why is this so prevalent in wealthy U.S. cities but so much less in cities like Paris and London. These are more expensive (relative to income), dense cities with housing shortages and smaller GDP's. Maybe there's something to be said for management of tax revenue and prioritization. Also petty theft is prosecuted in these cities.

toomanyrichies 4y ago
Americans, especially those who've led a relatively charmed life, have a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" mentality. The idea of the rugged, cowboy individualist succeeding all on their own through sheer force of will is a deeply ingrained part of our culture. Many would scoff if you tried telling them that they're already deeply interdependent with others to live the lifestyles they lead, for things like the clothes on their back, the food on their table, etc. A person with this kind of mentality who sees homelessness and drug addiction on the street is unlikely to be sympathetic about what brought someone to that state of affairs, or take action to help fix the issue.