gentrification

taken out of the San Francisco market; in the three following years, however, more than 300buildings and a thousand units in San Francisco were emptied of their tenants. 55Tenants in other Bay Area cities generally have fewer protections than those in SanFrancisco, and pressures on some of the surrounding urban rental markets are building to SanFranciscan levels. Oakland tenants in month-to-month leases can be evicted with a month’s notice,and no “just cause.” Vacancy rates are extremely low and rents remain high throughout themetropolitan area.The homeownership market is extremely strong, only exacerbating the pressures onaffordable Bay Area communities. The median home price in the Bay Area stood at $348,000 in1999, a 10.4 percent increase from 1998. While housing demand is very high, supply is severelyconstrained. Close-in communities around the Bay, such as Berkeley and many in Marin County,have lowered housing density limits, strictly limited new housing development, and some haveactually lost housing units in the past quarter century. But, San Francisco could build as many as anadditional 80,000 units on currently vacant land consistent with current zoning laws, according toPlanning Department staff. 56 One factor that limits multifamily production for market rate as well asaffordable housing is strident neighborhood opposition, or NIMBYism (as in, “not in my backyard”).2. Gentrification Dynamics: Some Bay Area ExamplesThe gentrification story in the Bay Area has added layers of complexity: Some communitiesthat face gentrification embrace it, while others abhor it. Some residents within these communitieswork to unite the resulting blend of old-timers and newcomers, while others fight the upper-incomeinflux guerrilla-style. Finally, public and private sector leaders throughout the metropolitan area arecoming to realize that unless the area can better manage growth, enhance housing opportunities,reduce the cost of living and improve quality of life, the region’s unprecedented economic growthand prosperity could be threatened. In a recent San Francisco Chronicle op-ed, the president of theBay Area Economic Forum, a corporation-led policy group, argued:The lack of housing, in turn, drives the region’s looming transportation crisis, as moreresidents are forced to commute longer distances to homes they can afford. When thathappens, our quality of life suffers.Because they affect the Bay Area’s ability to attract and retain the best faculty, engineers,researchers and workers, these constraints pose a serious threat to the region’s continued economicsuccess. 57a. The Mission District55 Rowen, Angela, “Pure Greed,” San Francisco Bay Guardian, January 19, 2000, p. 18.56 Matt Smith, p. 18. Oakland has approximately 150 acres of available land.57 Randolph, R. Sean, “Bay Area Must Keep Pace with Global Economy,” San Francisco Chronicle, March 15,2000, p. A19.44