The south of Market Street of San Francisco, from Market Street to Townsend and Division/13th Street to the bay was once the heart of SF’s industrial and small manufacturing. There were docks, warehouses, railyards, repair shops, breweries, printers, worker housing and working-class cafes to feed everyone.
The docks died. The rail lines descended into disuse. The warehouses emptied and the breweries closed. The area declined and artists began to move in. The developing tech industry populated the empty warehouses, made fortunes and built new spaces. A new ballpark was built, followed by med-tech Mission Bay rising from the railyards. Working class eateries hired chefs, changed their menus, and raised their prices. Rents of formally affordable housing rose until even the tech workers were having trouble paying. New housing units were built, and the rents and condo purchase prices continued to rise.
And just as in the rest of the country the many who had been housed became unhoused living on the street rough
