As the San Francisco tech boom has sent rents skyrocketing and pushed out established businesses,Erin McElroy and others at the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project acquire been gathering oral histories of some of those affectedSan Francisco experienced a dramatic increase in eviction rates, rental prices and outward migration following the birth of Tech Boom 2.0 back in 2011. Neighbourhoods are becoming more expensive and longtime residents are being pushed out so real estate speculators can create housing for the affluent. Established businesses are evaporating overnight, or to be replaced by the newest coffee shop or tech startup.
With broad tech companies paying interns six-figure salaries,and with smaller startups aspiring to be bought out by larger corporations, the Bay Area has been flooded with young wealthy technology workers. They are roughly 70% male and 60% white, and generally making enough money to afford what has become the average San Francisco rent: around $2500 a month. Some could even afford a downpayment on a domestic. Soon prospective buyers and tenants were outbidding each other in cash. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com