[San Francisco Living Wage Coalition]

The critical goal of this front–justice in the housing system–needs to be kept in sight. Those displaced and made economically insecure by an overheated property market, the forces of gentrification, and the sub prime mortgage racket deserve full-fledged assistance and support in obtaining fair housing.

Homeless people are being increasingly criminalized in spirit of the ugly laws from the turn of the century, many of which were not repealed until the mid 1970s. These laws deemed it illegal for “any person, who is diseased, maimed, mutilated or deformed in any way, so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object, to expose himself to public view.” Those displaced or in a lasting state of homelessness, in light of the forces that contribute to it, cannot be justly criminalized. The 2010 San Francisco sit-lie ordinance echoed the foundation of the ugly laws: policy to arrest homeless people rather than steer them out of homelessness.

In their transition out of homelessness, many people require the institutions such as halfway houses and lodges. Broadly speaking, these resources and institutions are not available enough.

“Affordable” housing must also be attainable. The cost structure of housing must be brought down other than just finding ways to subsidize it. Even with legislation that requires the creation of affordable housing, the current ratio of unaffordable to moderate housing under that is development will continue to widen rent disparity in San Francisco. Additionally, housing defined as “affordable” must be continuously checked with our critical goal in mind: true justice in the housing system. Pronouncements have been made about how well The City’s “affordable” housing production is going, however the numeric definition of ‘affordable’ (a percentage of area median income), leaves out many groups of San Francisco’s workforce. For instance, the defined affordable cost of housing for a household of two entry-level teachers (in some calculations up to 150% of AMI) is far from realistic, whilst the sustained high rate of evictions illustrates a clearer story. Measures of “affordability” need to be regularly and holistically reevaluated for holistic justice–to echo Goodhart’s law: “when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.”

Subsidies for housing do not always create realistic housing opportunities by itself. A just democracy must support the expansion of rent control of all units and oppose the imminent efforts to the contrary. Currently, pro-community initiatives are losing in competition with the increasing interest of developers at the market rate.

Subsidized and rent controlled housing face consistent efforts to reduce their availability to the public. Cities are limited by state legislation in their tools to impose rent control and vacancy control through a number of exceptions that may apply to housing owners and developers. Opportunities for subsidized and rent controlled housing are also being destroyed in a physical sense. Many subsidized and rent controlled housing opportunities are being destroyed and thereafter rebuild into units that are unaffordable. Private developers, as well as the government at all levels, need to be held in check with their efforts to repurpose property.

Housing from AirBnB and its equivalents contribute to displacement and gentrification of our cities. TIC (Tenancy in Common) is misused as a tool of gentrification and displacement.

Our cities are losing diversity as housing units are being turned into pied-a-terres for wealthy nonresidents, or by dedicating apartments for corporate suites and vacation rentals. Instead, in order to bring back diversity, families, seniors, immigrant communities, pets should receive a degree of preferential selection. Properties for sale should be sold to owners with intentions to live in the area and contribute to the community.

• This topic was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by San Francisco Living Wage Coalition.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by asej.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by asej.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by asej.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by asej.
• This topic was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by asej.

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