A roundup of news and multimedia from the Unfamiliar Terrain team:
San Francisco
- San Francisco isn’t doomed. These 6 places show why (S.F. Chronicle): The City is not without its current challenges but, for most of its 49 square miles, its stories are more complex. Here are six vignettes that hint at the facets of this nuanced place.
- Commercial real estate in San Francisco finally gets good news in office demand data (S.F. Gate): City office demand increased in the second quarter of 2023, according to recent data.
- Downtown Detroit Collapsed and Recovered. Here Are the Takeaways for San Francisco (S.F. Standard): SPUR led a trip to Detroit in May to analyze how it managed to stage a revival, and what that revival could mean for San Francisco.
- San Francisco launches new grants to fill commercial vacancies (Business Journals): City officials have initiated a new grant-funding program worth approximately $4 million aimed at filling commercial vacancies.
- S.F. to build hundreds of units of teacher housing. Here’s where the next two projects will land (S.F. Chronicle): $32 million has been allocated for two educator projects, one in the Mission and one in Hayes Valley, housing classroom teachers, paraeducators, and early education providers.
Bay Area
- Golden Gates Fields’ closure could remake the East Bay waterfront (Business Journals): The pending closure of Golden Gate Fields may present a rare redevelopment opportunity that could reshape the East Bay waterfront.
- Berkeley is adding new housing at the fastest rate in decades (Berkeleyside): Berkeley approved plans for nearly 900 homes in 2022, the most housing Berkeley has permitted in any year since at least 2001.
California and Beyond
- My house or my beach? How California’s housing crisis could weaken its coastal protections (CalMatters): An analysis of the interplay between the state’s current housing crisis and the Coastal Commission’s commitment to coastal preservation.
- The Root Cause of Homelessness (The Atlantic): Researchers at UC San Francisco have released the largest representative survey of homeless people in more than 25 years.
- The Life and Death of American Cities (N.Y. Times): An exploration of the life of Richard Ravitch, a N.Y. real estate developer and public servant, and what his example means for the future of American cities.
