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In his new book, Silicon City, Cary McClelland observes that San Francisco “has always been something of a funhouse mirror, reflecting a strange yet sublime potential self back to the rest of the nation.” The city was a myth machine, attracting pioneers, refugees, misfits, and artists—all of whom came to find a new way of life. “For the past fifty-plus years, San Francisco was a place where community was created,” McClelland writes.
But the myth turned into something else, a monster that grew and gobbled up real estate, communities, and, some might argue, the spirit of the city itself. San Francisco has become younger, whiter, and more tech-centric. The most important change, though, has been the influx of wealth, which has left all but the most privileged citizens in the dust. The city used to be a cultural and social haven for black families fleeing oppression, and had such a thriving jazz scene that it was once known as “the Harlem of the West.” Now, the city’s black community has almost disappeared, down from 13 percent in the 1970s to around 3 percent today. Other communities are being driven out of neighborhoods they’ve long called home as young tech workers, flush with cash, gentrify neighborhoods that used to be considered affordable (at least for some). According to McClelland, income inequality in San Francisco is growing faster than in any other American city, and while salaries have risen—the average wages in the San Francisco area are 53 percent above the national average—so has the number of people living in poverty.
full: https://www.bookforum.com/review/20486 _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: https://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
