As a middle class person without a property and kids just knowing we maintain salt ponds in an area where housing is in a world-record man-made critical shortage in a state where if fly over at night is mostly empty is beyond me. No houseboats (not many), no more foster city style land creation. Not much building up. Massive swaths of land that isnt a park, nor a preserve, nor "usable", but remains undeveloped. Poor public transit. I visit Japan quite often and wonder if San Fran had gotten firestormed into oblivion in 1945 we would be further along? Makes no sense to me to see Tokyo, starting from near nothing in 1945, holding 5 times as many people, having 525 subway stations, having so much more housing built up and infrastructure and a huge middle class (of course with demographics issues, but still) and to be here and watch basically the worst played game of Sim-City played out in real life. Billionaires club over here. I dont get why they like to live near muddy stinking salt mush while their baristas, kids teachers and man-servants need to rent tents in Gilroy to make it paycheck to paycheck.
