Lurie had a great year-if you're in the top 20 percent - 48 hills

"I have often said that if you divide the city into quintiles-the richest 20 percent to the poorest 20 percent-boom times are generally terrible for the bottom four. The rich get richer during booms, because investment money pours in, high-paid jobs and stock options expand, the financial industry makes money, and everyone who owns a lot of real estate can cash in."

"Lurie is celebrating and promoting the AI-driven tech boom, which is helping fill some office buildings downtown (thus making money for the already rich owners of commercial property). But it's also driven up residential rents by 17 percent in just one year. That's a killer for anyone in the lower 80 percent (unless they already own homes or are protected by rent control)."

"Lurie's solution, which he calls the 'Family Zoning Plan,' does nothing, absolutely nothing, to address this problem. The mayor, trusting the private market (as billionaires tend to do), had pushed through changes that allow taller, denser housing over much of the city. Those rules have not spurred developers to build much, and anything they build will be aimed only at the top 20 percent."

While media coverage portrays San Francisco's first year under Mayor Lurie as a success story of economic recovery and business-friendly policies, the reality reveals a widening inequality gap. The AI-driven tech boom enriches property owners and high-income earners but simultaneously drives residential rents up 17 percent annually, devastating lower-income residents. Lurie's Family Zoning Plan fails to address affordability, relying instead on private market solutions that only produce housing for the wealthy. Simultaneously, funding for affordable housing and essential services for lower-income populations faces significant cuts, while evictions and transit fares rise. Tax cuts for developers further prioritize wealthy interests over community welfare.

Read at 48 hills